The NYPD officer who a judge said "gratuitously" stomped on a suspect's head during an arrest was sentenced Thursday to two years probation.
Officer Joel Edouard, who was convicted of misdemeanor assault in the beating of Jahmiel Cuffee in 2014, must also resign from his post with the police department within 24 hours. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said he would be fired.
"This police officer intentionally and needlessly stomped on the head of a suspect who had already been restrained by fellow officers," said Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson. "And he did so in broad daylight and in front of a crowd of people. He deserved to spend time in jail for committing such a blatant act of police brutality, but we accept the sentence imposed by the court."
Edouard was found guilty of stomping Cuffee's head after stopping him for public drinking and marijuana possession on Malcolm X Bouluevard in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
Prosecutors said Edouard was caught on a bystander's video pulling out his gun and then stomping on Cuffee's head as the man was face down on the ground, subdued by other officers.
His attorney had previously said that Edouard deserved to keep his job.
