Teen Reportedly Had Seizure When NYPD Officer Placed Him In Chokehold

An NYPD officer, sent to serve and protect, served a 17-year-old with an unlawful chokehold amid experiencing a seizure this past Monday (March 27), Raw Story reports. The men in blue claim they were responding to a firearm call when the teenager began “running and threw himself on the ground before faking a seizure.”

Sister of the victim identified as Zavon Hodges claims, “They choked him because they thought he was resisting arrest,” Shaunte Greene said. “He was just panicking.”

The documented incident took place at the Pink Houses in Brooklyn. One witness can be heard questioning, “Why do you put somebody in a seizure in handcuffs?” Another bystander is recorded saying, “Yeah, but they choked him.”

READ: A NYPD Cop Was Arrested For Allegedly Masturbating While Looking Into A Child’s Window

Even though the police are claiming that they conducted themselves using their best judgement, Hodges’ cousin described a discomforting scene stating the police “handcuffed him and dragged him to a nearby tree.”

Witness Joseph Agnew colored the scene with more despair: “They all hopped out of the van and started choking him. He fell to the floor and started shaking, he was having a seizure and they put cuffs on him.”

The NYPD reportedly called the ambulance, although they stand by their appraisal that nothing was medically wrong with Hodges.

The teenager has been charged with disorderly conduct and criminal possession of marijuana.

READ: NYPD Officer Who Killed Ramarley Graham Quits After Being Found Guilty Of Using “Poor Judgment”