An NYPD precinct commander has been transferred in a department shakeup after a cop was caught on camera shoving a woman during a George Floyd protest in Brooklyn, police said Saturday.
Deputy Inspector Craig Edelman, who heads the 73rd Precinct in Brownsville, was walking behind the officer who pushed Dounya Zayer off her feet during a protest at the Barclays Center on May 28. Edelman did not stop the cop or offer to help Zayer, sources said. Now he’s out of a command.
The move set off a ripple effect of transfers among local precincts. Deputy Inspector Terrell Anderson, the commanding officer of the 69th Precinct in Canarsie, was tapped to lead the 73rd Precinct. Captain Robert Conwell of the 68th Precinct in Bay Ridge was transferred to fill the hole left in the 69th Precinct.
A captain and executive officer serving in the 67th Precinct in East Flatbush will be transferred to lead the 68th Precinct, officials said.
The NYPD confirmed the department’s deck shuffling.
“Transfers are made routinely to meet the needs of the department,” an NYPD spokeswoman said.
The cop who shoved Zayer was suspended Friday following an excessive force investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau. The officer, who has not been named, will have to undergo a department hearing to determine if he should be fired or be disciplined in another way. He has not been charged criminally.
State Attorney General Letitia James’ office is also looking into the excessive force allegations.
Another cop was suspended on Friday for pulling down protester Andrew Smith’s mask to pepper spray him, authorities said.
Smith’s hands were in the air during the Saturday encounter, the video shows.
