Cop Used Excessive Force In George Floyd Park Slope Protest: Watchdog

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — An NYPD inspector used excessive force when he stepped on a man's neck amid the chaotic 2020 George Floyd protests in Park Slope, civilian watchdogs found.

Inspector James Palumbo faces potential termination after Civilian Complaint Review Board members this week substantiated use of force charges against him, records show.

The finding came after an NYPD trial that centered around a controversial video taken June 2, 2020, along Fourth Avenue near Atlantic Avenue that showed cops chase down a man and beat him with batons, the New York Daily News first reported. While the man is on the ground, a white-shirted officer — Palumbo — can be seen stepping, perhaps stomping, on his neck.

“The fact that you use your foot to step on someone already on the ground when there’s no necessity — that is beyond reasonable force,” a CCRB prosecutor said during the hearing, the Daily News reported.

“His agenda was ‘I’m going to punish this guy. I’m going to show him you can’t mess with the police.’"

The finding puts disciplinary next steps in the NYPD officials' hands. A spokesperson told Patch that the "administrative process is ongoing."

Palumbo and his attorney described what he did as a "step" meant to reasonably subdue the man, the Daily News reported.

The video itself was prominently featured in a New York Times report about footage from the George Floyd protests that arguably undercut NYPD officials' claims that their officers used restraint.

Many of the videos were taken near Barclays Center, which became a rallying point for protests, as well as center of violence and chaos from police and demonstrators alike.

CCRB members substantiated 87 complaints of police misconduct against 145 officers during the protests as of May 2022, according to the last report on the investigations.

Only a handful of cases went forward after the report, including Palumbo's.

After CCRB members substantiated the complaint against Palumbo, he'll next face an NYPD review that will guide Commissioner Keechant Sewell's final decision.