Cop Who Punched Handcuffed Man In Harlem Cell Pleads Guilty: DA

HARLEM, NY — An NYPD sergeant who beat a handcuffed suspect in a Harlem precinct has pleaded guilty to assault, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Phillip Wong, 37, made the guilty plea in connection with the 2019 assault in Harlem, as well as a separate incident six months later on the Upper West Side.

At the time of the Oct. 4, 2019 incident, Wong was assigned to a transit patrol based at the 145th Street–St. Nicholas Avenue subway station. That day, fellow officers brought in a 48-year-old man, along with two other suspects, to be processed after they were arrested for unspecified reasons.

As Wong, a 15-year NYPD veteran, led the handcuffed man into a holding cell, the man kicked the door and began spitting at Wong and two fellow officers, prosecutors said. Wong then pushed past the other officers, opened the cell door and punched the man in the face, prosecutors said.

The victim was taken to a hospital for cuts above his right eye, which required stitches, prosecutors said. The incident had been reported by Wong's supervisor to the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau, the New York Times reported last July, when Wong was first arrested.

Judge Curtis Farber sentenced Wong Wednesday to two years' probation, anger management or counseling, and 70 hours of community service — declining prosecutors' request of a 60-day jail sentence.

Wong is now on modified duty, an NYPD spokesperson said Wednesday — a status that usually indicates an administrative position with little contact with the public. At the time of Wong's arrest last year, the NYPD said he had been suspended without pay.

City records show that Wong earned $109,360 as a sergeant last year.

"I don't give a f*** if you can breathe or not"

The second incident happened in April 2020, when Wong allegedly knelt on a man's back while arresting him at the 96th Street 1-2-3 subway station after the man used anti-Asian slurs.

Prosecutors said the man shouted "I can't breathe!" as Wong knelt on him, to which the sergeant replied, "I don't give a f*** if you can breathe or not."

Wong then punched the man in the face, put both his knees on his back and "bounced on his back multiple times," prosecutors said. The man was taken to a hospital, where it was found that he suffered no physical injuries.

Wong pleaded guilty this week to third-degree assault for the Harlem incident and third-degree attempted assault for the Upper West Side case.

"Law enforcement officials are sworn to serve and protect their communities, including New Yorkers in their custody," District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement Wednesday, after Wong's guilty plea.

"In this case, Sergeant Wong violated not only his oath – but the law – during the violent arrests of two New Yorkers, on two separate occasions."

NYPD guidelines bar officers from using force against people who are handcuffed, except to prevent someone from resisting or to prevent injury or escape.

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