
Image source: Daily Mail video screenshot, composite
A 16-year-old male who was caught on video punching and body-slamming a police officer in a New York City subway over the weekend — and even putting the cop in a choke hold — was released on his own recognizance the very next day, police sources told the New York Post.
Image source: Daily Mail video screenshot
The teen — who isn't being publicly identified because of his age — previously had been arrested for possession of a loaded gun and robbery, police sources added to the Post.
The teen jumped the turnstile at the 125th Street-Lexington Avenue station in East Harlem just before 6 p.m. Saturday, police told the paper, adding that a 16-year-old girl who was with him ducked under the turnstile.
The male teen “became verbally aggressive for over 3 minutes with officers” before they tried to arrest him, authorities noted to the Post.
Cellphone video shows the male teen repeatedly punching the cop, who fights back as they wrestle and trade blows in the subway.
Image source: Daily Mail video screenshot
Image source: Daily Mail video screenshot
The female teen lands punches also before a woman NYPD officer pulls her away, the Post said.
At one point the male teen rams the cop into a metal fence before body-slamming the officer and even putting the cop into a choke hold.
Image source: Daily Mail video screenshot
Another uniformed individual steps in to help the officer, grabbing the male teen's wrists, which allows the cop to finally gain control of the situation and pin the bloody-faced teen to the subway floor.
Image source: Daily Mail video screenshot
Image source: Daily Mail video screenshot
The male teen was arrested and charged with assault on a police officer, obstruction of governmental administration, and resisting arrest, police told the Post. But police sources told the paper the male teen was released on his own recognizance during a Sunday court appearance.
The female teen was arrested on the same charges, but the Post said it wasn't immediately known what happened at her arraignment.
Both officers were treated and released at NYU Langone Hospital, the paper said, adding that the cop who fought with the male teen suffered head and shoulder swelling.
Patrick Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association union, told the Post that "if New Yorkers want to know why the chaos in the transit system is not improving more quickly — this is why. The criminals underground know they can get in a brawl, choke a cop, and be back out in hours. Cops are putting ourselves on the line to make the subways safer, but we are feeling abandoned by a justice system that won’t back us up.”