A hot-headed NYPD cop pepper-sprayed a Queens man while he was down — and then kept spraying and spraying.
The stunning altercation — caught on surveillance video exclusively obtained by the Daily News — played out at a St. Albans bodega. Afterward, the victim said, a cop hurled a racial slur at him.
Stefon Luckey, 34, who is black, is seen entering the deli, followed by four light-skinned cops. He struggles as they argue and one of the officers pushes him down an aisle, into a shelf.
Two of the cops leave and things seem to simmer down, when suddenly one male cop whips out a can of pepper spray and squirts Luckey in the face.
Luckey, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 300 pounds, covers his eyes with his arm and stumbles to the back of the store.
He's alone in a corner for about 30 seconds, bent over in pain, when the same cop returns to squirt him in the face a second and third time.
Luckey then stands against a door, his hands folded behind his back. After a few seconds, two officers handcuff him as he puts up no resistance. But still not satisfied, the same brown-haired officer cruelly sprays him in the eyes a fourth time.
Stefon Luckey is seen entering the deli, followed by four cops. Things get ugly moments later when a cop whips out a can of pepper spray and squirts Luckey in the face.
Luckey sued in Brooklyn Federal Court last month over his May 14, 2013 arrest. He says he was waiting for his brother on the street when cops pulled the brother over for making an illegal U-turn.
Luckey, who works as an EMT, says he commented on the situation and was told to move himself across the street. He says he complied by walking into Y&H Deli for a drink while sucking his teeth in disgust.
But the cops followed him in and told him they were arresting him, he says.
When he asked why, the spray came out, Luckey says.
"It came as a surprise to me. I think they were just trying to bully me," said Luckey.
The city Law Department and the NYPD declined to comment.
AARON SHOWALTER/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSStefon Luckey sued in Brooklyn Federal Court last month over his May 14, 2013 arrest. He said he'll never look at NYPD officers the same.
Luckey claims he was also punched in the ribs by a cop while riding in a police van to the 113th Precinct.
“I was screaming that I couldn’t see and breathe and that's when one cop said, ‘Stop acting like a cry baby n-----,’” he recounted. When he reached the precinct, a captain threatened Luckey with a Taser gun, then put him in a cell for two hours without medical attention for his burning eyes, nose and throat, he claims.
“They took me to the front desk and the captain came out,” Luckey said.
“He pulled out a Taser gun and started shining the red light in my face. Then they put me in a cell with handcuffs on. My vision was still blurry. They left me in the cell for two hours without getting water for my eyes.”
Luckey said he was charged with disorderly conduct and the charge was ultimately dismissed.
Luckey claims cops didn't return $200 cash and his ID when they gave him back his wallet. His lawyer, Philip Hines, told The News that matter is under investigation.
The cops “felt like they could rule the streets with impunity,” said Hines.
“When police officers such as these show callous and obvious disregard for the civil rights of the public, it undermines all of the great work done by the vast majority of the NYPD,” Hines said.
Luckey says he’ll never look at NYPD officers the same again.
“It was my first time to be treated that way,” he said. “Just a person sucking their teeth shouldn't have to lead to all that.”
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