Metro

NYPD cop caught kneeling on man’s neck resigns to avoid trial

The NYPD officer who was caught on camera kneeling on a man’s neck during a violent arrest has opted to resign from the force instead of facing an internal trial, The Post has learned.
Officer Francisco Garcia put in his paperwork Tuesday — just two days before his trial was slated to begin in police headquarters, according to police sources.
Garcia, who’s been suspended with pay since the video emerged in late May, was accused of using excessive force in the arrest in the East Village on May 2 after a social distancing bust near East 9th Street and Avenue D.
The Taser-wielding cop in street clothes aggressively approached bystander Donni Wright, yelling, “Move the f–k back right now!” and “What you flexing for? Don’t flex!”
After holstering the stun gun, the cop cocked his fist and hit the 33-year-old Wright before pinning the man on the sidewalk with his knee to Wright’s neck.

Images of the arrest would take on a new light after May 25, when George Floyd died when he was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin.
That same month, the NYPD announced it would discipline Garcia for the Manhattan bust, as well as the two other officers in the arrest.
After videos of the incident emerged, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office dropped assault and resisting arrest charges against Wright.

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Francisco Garcia (left) kneels on Donni Wright's neck.
Francisco Garcia (left) kneels on Donni Wright's neck.Daquan Owens via Storyful
Francisco Garcia (right) kneels on Donni Wright's neck.
Francisco Garcia (right) kneels on Donni Wright's neck.Daquan Owens via Storyful
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Francisco Garcia and Donni Wright
Francisco Garcia and Donni WrightDaquan Owens via Storyful
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The status of the two other cops’ internal charges was unknown.

PBA president Patrick Lynch blamed the department for Garcia’s situation, saying he was left “holding the bag for their own failures.”

“We warned them that sending cops out to enforce their half-baked public health policies would create a backlash — they didn’t listen, and now yet another police officer’s career has been cut short by politics,” Lynch said.
Wright was not the subject of the social-distancing call.
The NYPD did not immediately respond for comment.