Warning: The videos above and below contain profanity and disturbing content.
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The NYPD officer who was suspended without pay Sunday after he was recorded in Far Rockaway in Queens putting a man in banned chokehold, once faced criminal charges alleging he pistol-whipped a teenage suspect and broke two of his teeth.
The NYPD quickly suspended Officer David Afanador hours after the video circulated.
The video was taken on a boardwalk near Beach 113th Street and Ocean Promenade around 8:45 a.m.
Officers were responding to a report about a man harassing and throwing objects at beachgoers. They said the man threw something at them from a trash can before resisting arrest.
A spokesperson for the Queens District Attorney's Office said, "There must be zero tolerance for police misconduct. The District Attorney's Office is aware of the incident in Far Rockaway yesterday. We take these allegations very seriously and an active investigation is underway. District Attorney Melinda Katz has declined to prosecute the man taken into custody by police in Far Rockaway yesterday morning."
The video shows at least four officers on top of a man near the beach as several men yell at them to get off of him.
"Stop choking him, bro!" one man can be heard screaming. "Yo, he's choking him! Let him go, bro!"
"He's out, he's out, he's out!" another man says before the officers get off the man.
An NYPD spokesman said the man was taken away moments after the altercation.
The NYPD said in a statement Sunday night, "We are aware of the video and there is an active use of force investigation underway by the Internal Affairs Bureau. This matter is taken extremely seriously and we expect to have an update this evening as the investigation unfolds."
Just a few hours later, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea released a statement saying the officer had been suspended without pay following a "swift investigation."
"Accountability in policing is essential," Shea said. "After a swift investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau, a police officer involved in a disturbing apparent chokehold incident in Queens has been suspended without pay. While a full investigation is still underway, there is no question in my mind that this immediate action is necessary. We are committed to transparency as this process continues."
The NYPD also released 35-minute long bodycam footage of the altercation (watch above).
Just weeks ago, New York state legislators banned the use of chokeholds by police amid widespread protests over racism and policing in America. The City Council also recently passed legislation making it a criminal offense to use chokeholds.
It's at least the second time Afanador has been suspended from the force. The officer was sidelined after his 2014 arrest, only to return to duty after a judge acquitted him and his partner of all charges in 2016.
In that case, Afanador was seen on video using his gun to hit a 16-year-old boy during a marijuana bust. The beating continued until the boy dropped to the ground and was handcuffed. That altercation, which came six weeks after the police chokehold death of Eric Garner, also made news headlines.
Afanador was involved in eight incidents that were the subject of complaints to the city's police watchdog agency since joining the police department in 2005, according to records obtained Monday under a new state law making disciplinary files public.
They ranged from using discourteous language to use of physical force and refusing to seek medical treatment. All of the allegations to the city's Civilian Complaint Review were either unsubstantiated or led to exoneration except for the ones stemming from the altercation that led to his arrest.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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