NYPD Cop Faces Assault Charge After Punching, Attacking 2 Men: DA

New York City NY

22 July, 2021

5:26 PM

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NEW YORK CITY — An NYPD cop faces accusations he punched two men in his custody, District Attorney Cy Vance announced. Sgt. Phillip Wong, 37, was indicted Thursday in New York State Supreme Court on assault charges for the two separate incidents, the district attorney said. When one man shouted, "I can't breathe," authorities said Wong punched him and replied, "I don't give a f--- if you can breathe or not!" "As alleged, this Sergeant grossly violated his training – and the law – during the arrests of these two individuals," Vance said. "Our Office will not accept police violence." Wong, a 15-year veteran of the NYPD, attacked a 48-year-old man after the handcuffed man spat at him and other cops in the West 145th Street Precinct on Oct. 4, 2019, according to court records. The sergeant punched the detained man, who would later require stitches, in his right eye, the District Attorney's office said. On April 29, 2020, Wong intervened in an arrest at the West 96th Street and Broadway subway station, where a 35-year-old man allegedly punched another passenger, prosecutors said. The 35-year-old cursed the cops, shouted anti-Asian slurs and kicked Wong in the leg, according to the District Attorney's office. Wong and the other officer then pushed the man to the ground and Wong knelt on his back, prosecutors said. The man was taken to the hospital where doctors determined he had not been injured, according to prosecutors.