Alas, there is some justice,
sometimes. The indictment of New York City Police Officer Jonathan Munoz was
announced last week by the the Manhattan district attorney. Munoz is accused of illegally arresting a man
who tried to videotape the illegal search/groping/sexual assault of a young woman. The confrontation took place last spring.
Jezebel reports:
Last spring, Jason Disisto and some friends were hanging out in front of a restaurant in Washington Heights when an NYPD officer named Jonathan Munoz came up to one of Disisto’s female friends and started to frisk and paw her. Munoz stuck his hand in the woman’s sweater and took her by the wrist.
Disisto then grabbed his friend’s cell phone to record the incident. Another officer, Edwin Flores, charged at Disitso to prevent from filming. Video footage shows Munoz and Flores attempting to wrestle the phone of Disisto’s hand and then cuffing him. The two officers arrested Disisto and put him in a police car, throwing the cellphone out of the car window.
In the now dismissed case against Disisto, Officer Munoz claimed Disisto lunged and swung a fist at him. Thanks to cell phone cameras, security cameras, and social media, Munoz and others like him are proving themselves to be liars.
Given the social media videos we see daily, that reveal extreme police brutality—and sometimes murder—it can make even the least skeptical person wonder what unthinkable offenses have taken place prior to today’s technology. It’s a daunting thought. In the past it was one person’s word against an entire police department. Naturally, many police crimes were never reported due to fear, intimidation, and/or lack of evidence. Now, people have the world backing them via truth-telling videos. We need more indictments like this one. Better yet, we need more convictions. Then perhaps some of America’s trust will return.
Special thanks to Brendan O'Connor/Gawker.