A Cop Allegedly Beat a Man Over a Spilled Drink

An NYPD officer is heading to court after allegedly beating a man who accidentally spilled a drink on the sidewalk in front of him, New York Daily News reports.

The victim, 23-year-old Brooklyn resident Raymond Crespo, says he was hanging out on a Coney Island street corner one night in July when a friend knocked his drink out of his hand. The plastic cup ended up rolling over toward on-duty NYPD officer O'Keefe Thompson, who allegedly ordered Crespo to clean the spill up. When he didn't, Crespo says Thompson attacked him at a nearby bodega.

"He grabbed me, started swinging on me, and I'm fighting to stay in the store," Crespo told the Daily News. "As soon as I let go of the gate, I hit it on the right side of my eye. And boom, I let go of the door, I come outside, and he's dragging me all through the same area."

Thompson allegedly shoved Crespo into a wall, knocked him to the ground, and then dragged his body along the sidewalk—which was all captured on nearby security cameras, according to a press release from the Kings County district attorney's office. Crespo then went to Coney Island Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and a potential concussion before reporting the attack to police.

Crespo says that Thompson showed up near his house the next day in plainclothes carrying a gun, angry that Crespo reported the incident.

"He was over my body saying, 'You're going to shit on my name? You're gonna really shit on my name. You know what I should do to you?'" Crespo told the Daily News. Thompson reportedly visited Crespo a second time, hoping to smooth things over—but it was too late for that. After an internal NYPD investigation, acting Brooklyn district attorney Eric Gonzales announced Monday that Thompson would be charged with one count of intimidating a witness, two counts of third-degree assault, and two counts of official misconduct.

"Police officers risk their lives every day to keep us all safe, however, this defendant crossed the line by allegedly assaulting a man and later threatening him," Gonzales said. "Such conduct is not only unacceptable, it undermines public trust in our justice system and will not be tolerated in Brooklyn."

Thompson was arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court Monday and is scheduled to head to court on November 29. He could spend as much as four years in prison if convicted.