The New Rochelle Police Department is defending one of its officers depicted in a video gone viral as pointing a gun at a group of teenagers having a snowball fight. According to Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Murphy, the video clip is a farce.
The NY Daily News reported that the commissioner said, “There was no snowball fight” and police were responding to a gun-related 911 call. Officials have stated that the video clip is not what it appears to be.
Murphy said 911 received a call around 4 p.m. on Friday, stating a teenager standing in a group of six near the Heritage Houses had pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at another person.
“We dispatched several cars to the area. Police officers got out of their cars and one of the individuals bent down, adjusted something in his waistband and ran,” Murphy said.
One officer remained with the five teens who did not run off, while another chased after the suspect.
“Don’t f—–g move, guys,” the cop shouted in one of two clips that were sent to the Talk of the Sound.
The video showed two teens kneeling with their hands in the air. The officer frisked both of them and then ordered them to stand up.
“The group was compliant,” Murphy said. “At the same time the other cop is in foot pursuit of the suspect that had the gun. The suspect runs into an apartment house and into an unknown apartment.” Police did not catch the suspect.
“It’s a completely different incident than it appears from that snippet. There’s clearly a lot of misunderstanding. The record of the 911 call will by itself illustrate what was going on,” said a high-ranking source that agrees with Murphy that there was no snowball fight. “The video looks terrible, but it’s completely out of context,” he said.
