#Suspect who was victim in Queens NYPD chokehold video busted in Bronx

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Photos taken from police body cam video of New York Police officers arresting Ricky Bellevue Sunday, June 21, 2020, in New York.
AP

The Brooklyn man whose caught-on-camera arrest went viral last month — leading to a cop’s arrest for allegedly using an illegal chokehold — has been arrested himself, police said.

Ricky Bellevue, 35, was arrested near the 42nd Precinct stationhouse in the Bronx shortly before noon Tuesday after he allegedly slashed a man’s face with a box cutter after making anti-gay statements, according to police.

Police said Bellevue cut the 27-year-old victim while the two fought over the man’s bag.

Cops said they were alerted and took Bellevue and the second suspect, a 28-year-old man who has not been identified, into custody.

The victims were treated at the scene, police said.

Last month, Bellevue was caught on viral video being put in an illegal chokehold by NYPD Officer David Afanador during an arrest in the Rockaways.

Afandador, 39, was one of four police officers seen on the 29-second clip pinning Bellevue to the ground during the June 21 Queens scuffle. Afanador is seen on the video with his arm around Bellevue’s neck while the other cops try to handcuff him.

“Yo, stop choking him bro!” a bystander is heard saying on the video.

Afanador was suspended just hours later after what the department described as “a swift investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau.” Four days later, he was arrested and charged with attempted strangulation and strangulation.

The cop was released without bail later in the day and is due back in court on Aug. 3.

Bellevue has a criminal record that includes prior assault and menacing charges, sources said.

Additional reporting by Larry Celona