An NYPD officer is expected to face charges in an alleged assault of a Brooklyn man who spilled a cup of alcohol onto the ground and refused to pick it up.
The alleged 23-year-old victim, Raymond Crespo, tells the Daily News that he was on a Coney Island street holding a cup containing alcohol when his friend knocked it to the ground.
The cup rolled in the direction of Officer O'Keefe Thompson, 30, who was on patrol nearby, according to the Brooklyn district attorney's office. Thompson told Crespo to clean up the mess, but Crespo refused.
The officer then allegedly threw Crespo against the doorway of a nearby bodega, knocking him to the ground, before dragging him out onto the sidewalk, prosecutors said.
As Crespo lay motionless for a few seconds, Thompson allegedly grabbed him again, dragged him several more feet and dropped him to the ground, saying, "Don't you know that I'm from the 'Ville?," referring to Brownsville, Brooklyn.
Crespo went home, went to sleep and woke up with a swollen face and headache, prosecutors said. He called 911 and was taken to Coney Island Hospital, where he was treated for swelling and bruising to the face, as well as for possible concussion.
After he got out of the hospital, Crespo filed a complaint against Thompson.
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Crespo said the next day, he saw Thompson on the street and the officer threatened him, showing a gun and saying "Why are you s----ing on my name? Do you know what I'm going to do to you?," prosecutors alleged. A crowd of bystanders pulled the officer away from Crespo, and the incident was captured on surveillance video.
But a few days later, Crespo saw the officer on the same corner where he was attacked and Thompson tried to clear the air, Crespo told the Daily News.
Thompson was arraigned Monday on charges of misdemeanor assault, intimidating a witness and official misconduct, according to the Brooklyn district attorney's office. He was released and ordered to return to court November 29.
