#NYPD cop arrested over apparent chokehold during Queens encounter

“#NYPD cop arrested over apparent chokehold during Queens encounter”

June 25, 2020 | 11:05am

The NYPD cop accused of putting a man in an illegal chokehold in a now-viral weekend encounter was arrested, police said Thursday.

Officer David Afanador, 39, was charged with attempted strangulation and strangulation over the Sunday encounter in Queens that was captured on cellphone camera, according to police.

Afanador was one of four cops who were arresting 35-year-old Ricky Bellevue on the Rockaway Boardwalk.

As the three other officers cuff Bellevue, Afanador appears to have his arm around the man’s neck as he goes limp, video shows.

“Yo, stop choking him, bro!” someone off-screen yells during the 29-second video.

The cop only let go as one of the other cops taps him on his back.

The encounter came just three days after the City Council passed legislation making it a criminal offense for cops to use chokeholds.

Afanador was suspended without pay following the incident and the NYPD quickly released bodycam footage as sources revealed his arrest was imminent.

Police previously told The Post the cops were flagged down around 8:45 a.m. by people saying a man had been throwing objects at them.

When cops approach Bellevue, he threatens to throw a garbage can at them, body camera footage shows.

Afanador tells a bystander in the body-camera footage that Bellevue was known to have a mental illness and he and the two others with him were “obviously intoxicated.”

“They were all talking all types of crazy stuff to us. We did nothing. I don’t care. Anybody can say whatever they want to us,” Afanador told the woman.

“What changed everything is when he grabbed something and squared off, and was gonna hit my officer who’s standing over there,” Afanador said.

“That’s when everything changed,” he continued. “The minute I saw him flex on him, that’s when he goes down, ’cause we don’t get hurt and we’re not gonna leave somebody violent out here who might do that to one of you or another innocent person.”