NYPD Officers Render Man Unconscious With Knee On His Neck: Suit

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — One month before George Floyd died with Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee on his neck, Brooklyn used similar tactics on a man they’d first knocked down with a car, a new lawsuit claims.

They ultimately released the man — Dylan Williams, 21, of Maryland — without a charge.

These accusations are detailed in a lawsuit against New York City filed Monday in Brooklyn's federal court.

The complaint accuses NYPD officers of police brutality in April 2020, barely a month before protests erupted nationwide in the wake of Floyd’s death.

A New York City Law Department spokesman declined to comment on the case and stated in an email, “We’ll review the complaint when we are served and respond in court.”

Patch was unable to reach Williams or his attorney, Brett Klein, for comment.

The encounter began when Williams saw plainclothes officers approaching another person near Sterling Place and Howard Avenue in Weeksville between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on April 20, the complaint states.

Williams left, but was followed for more than a block by an unmarked police car that suddenly hit his leg and knocked him onto the sidewalk near 1710 Park Place, according to the suit.

An officer jumped out of the car with his gun leveled at Williams, who raised his hands in the air, the suit claims.

Cops then pushed Williams to the ground and pressed their knees into his neck and back until he lost consciousness, the suit says.

Williams, who had told the officers he couldn’t breathe, later woke to find himself handcuffed in the back of a cop car, according to the suit.

The officers let Williams go and issued no charges, the complaint states.

"All of the above occurred as a direct result of the unconstitutional policies,” the complaint concludes. “The aforesaid event is not an isolated incident."

This suit comes as the NYPD faces mounting scrutiny of police action during the George Floyd protests in New York City, including a lawsuit from Attorney General Letitia James, a review from the Civilian Complaint Review Board, and an Internal Affairs Bureau investigation.

NYPD top brass have stood firm in support of police conduct.

Commissioner Dermot Shea recently said the NYPD was justified in publicly criticized confrontations during the protests, such as when cops drove cars into a crowd of Brooklyn protesters, and remarked that, on the whole, cops did a "phenomenal job."