The video reveals McFly being struck by an officer earlier than being lifted, restrained, and positioned in handcuffs. Witnesses mentioned the arrest stemmed from his possession of a conveyable speaker. In one other clip from the identical incident, an officer is seen knocking a cellular phone from a bystander’s arms because the particular person may be heard shouting, “I got all that sh*t.”

Social media account TrapmaticTV would share the footage with a caption that means the identify and badge variety of the NYPD officer who assaulted English McFly. It reads:

“NYPD OFFICERS OVERSTEP AUTHORITY AGAIN. IN HARLEM, NY SWARMING, PHYSICALLY A55AULTING ARTIST English McFly & OTHERS OVER A music SPEAKER. WHEN WILL THIS STOP? Officer BRENDON P. GROGAN (Badge # 27219)”

McFly, an emering attraction within the Harlem rap scene, gave the impression to be singled out in the course of the commotion. He is seen within the video being pushed round, punched, and restrained earlier than officers picked him up and escorted him away. The pictures sparked quick criticism on-line, the place many denounced the encounter as extreme power and questioned the rationale of detaining a performer over a music machine.

NYPD Officer Caught Striking Harlem Rapper On Viral Video

The altercation additionally drew scrutiny for the officer’s confrontation with the onlooker filming the occasions. Civil rights advocates mentioned the second raised questions on the correct to file public officers, protected below the First Amendment. For many viewers, it turned emblematic of a bigger wrestle between legislation enforcement and public accountability.

By late final week, the Police Department had not offered an in depth account of the arrest or defined the actions seen within the footage. McFly and his representatives haven’t issued a public assertion in regards to the incident or any accidents he could have sustained.

The video, broadly shared throughout social media, shortly attracted consideration from native media and advocacy teams. Community leaders in Harlem known as for transparency and an intensive assessment of the occasions.

The episode underscores how shortly road gatherings in New York can spiral into confrontation. It additionally highlights the fraught relationship between the town’s cultural life and the police charged with monitoring it.

What started as a neighborhood gathering now sits on the heart of a rising debate over civil liberties, accountability, and the place of music in public areas.