New York City authorities are investigating an incident in a shelter in which a Venezuelan migrant who has holding his one-year-old son was struck with a stun gun, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Video footage of the event obtained by the outlet shows 47-year-old Yanny Cordero be approached by two police officers called into the shelter over a dispute. Cordero, who is holding his son in his arms, appears to be hit struck by the stun gun and punched in the head by an officer.
The officers move on to forcefully restrain Cordero, pinning his head against a desk while people in the background complain and plead with them to stop. "Where are the human rights?," a person says while the incident unfolds. A third officer then punches Cordero twice in the face before he is arrested.
According to the outlet, police went to the shelter, located in Queens, following a complaint about an intoxicated man who was threatening staff members. "They said that officers on the scene gave Mr. Cordero multiple warnings and commands to hand the child to someone else," the NYT added.
Cordero, in contrast, said he hadn't been drinking that night because he had to work next day, and that a shelter employee hit him in the face as he struggled to communicate in English.
Moreover, he told the outlet he had gone out to buy food because his family didn't like what was being served, but upon his return a staff employee seemed to tell him he couldn't enter with food, a result of "an unwritten shelter policy to reduce infestation."
He said that he used a translation app to tell the employee he was going to the cafeteria, but that the staffer called a colleague that become hostile to him and suddenly punched him in the face. He added that he didn't strike back and instead taunted the employee in Spanish, inviting him to fight outside. Another Venezuelan migrant who filmed the video confirmed Cordero's account.
Cordero was nonetheless charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and violent behavior, as well as obstructing government administration and acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17. His wife, who threw her body between her husband and the officers, was also charged.
Both Cordero and his wife, Andrea Parra, were released on Saturday night, almost a full day after the incident, and were reunited with their three children. They were moved to another shelter in Brooklyn.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams defended the officers' behavior on Tuesday, saying he had discussed the case with the police commissioner and concluded they had acted appropriately as Cordero was acting in a "violent" and "volatile" manner.
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