Pol Demands NYPD Release Video Of Chase That Left Teen Paralyzed

SUNSET PARK, NY — Councilman Carlos Menchaca called on the city to release security camera footage of a police chase that left a Sunset Park teen paralyzed.

Menchaca joined the Legal Aid Society and the family of Jimmy Alvarado over the weekend to demand the NYPD turn over footage captured by a shoe store's security camera showing the incident that left Alvarado with severe spinal injuries.

"Initial news reports offer few public details, and no way to understand what took place and why," Menchaca told the Brooklyn Daily.

"Any interaction with the police that results in serious injuries must be understood completely by the public and in a way that leads to prevention of similar tragic events."

On May 20, police responded to a brawl between a large group of people outside the Widdi's catering hall, at 5602 Sixth Ave., the New York Daily News reported.

Alvarado was among the group who ran away when officers came, but the teen eventually fell and landed on a car near 54th Street and Fifth Avenue, The New York Post reported. One of the officers slipped and fell on Alvarado, breaking the teen's neck.

The Post reported that video footage captured from the Es La Vida shoe store shows the officer slipping on a crosswalk before he fell on Alvarado.

Alvarado was paralyzed from the incident and has been in the hospital ever since, Menchaca said. Menchaca called on the NYPD to investigate what happened and wants the footage turned over to the public so they can review what happened.

The New York Daily News reported that the NYPD's Force Investigation Division has started a probe into the incident.

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