The cellphone video of the incident showed plainclothes Officer Francisco Garcia slapping and punching 33-year-old Donni Wright over an alleged social-distancing violation after cops broke up a group near the corner of East Ninth Street and Avenue D, on May 2.

“The internal investigation is recommending discipline for several members of the Department involved in the incident. Charges are expected as early as next week,” the NYPD said in a statement Friday.

Should an out of control officer like Garcia remain on the force?

Officer Francisco Garcia [left] was suspended pending an Internal Affairs Bureau probe after he was caught on camera violently subduing a suspect in the East Village on May 2.
Cellphone video shows Garcia, who was wearing street clothes, wielding a Taser as he shouts at bystanders as other cops confronted two men for allegedly violating coronavirus social-distancing rules near East 9th Street and Avenue D.
“Move the f–k back right now!” he was recorded saying.
“What you flexing for? Don’t flex!”
Garcia then holstered the Taser and grabbed an onlooker, wrestling him down and punching him in his head before using his knee to pin the man’s neck to the sidewalk, the video shows.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office later deferred prosecution of the subject of the police brutality, Donni Wright, on charges of assaulting a police officer, menacing and resisting arrest.
In addition to Garcia, at least two other cops are expected to face disciplinary charges over the incident, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Garcia has been sued seven times during the past six years, leading to more than $200,000 in settlements by the city, records show.

The horrifying incident was recorded on a cell phone camera by onlooker as they pled with cops to stop beating the victim

Following the May 2 incident, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said there were “certainly some tactics that I was not happy with.”
“I think we got to be better and that’s what was most troubling to me,” Shea said.
“I would also like to remind you that de-escalation takes two, unfortunately.”
Garcia’s union, the Police Benevolent Association, didn’t immediately return a request for comment.