A New York City police officer who was suspended after using an 'apparent chokehold' was once charged with assault following the arrest of a 16-year-old

• New York Police Officer David Afanador was suspended without pay on Sunday after he was seen on video using a chokehold on 35-year-old Ricky Bellevue.
• Afanador was previously charged with assault following a 2014 arrest, during which he was seen on video hitting a 16-year-old boy in the face with his gun.
• Afanador was acquitted and allowed to return to the force.
• According to the Associated Press, in his 15 years with the department, Afanador has faced complaints tied to at least eight incidents.

A New York City police officer who was suspended on Sunday after using what appeared to be a chokehold on a suspect in Queens had previously been faced assault charges in connection to a 2014 arrest of a 16-year-old boy.

Officer David Afanador, who was suspended without pay after Sunday's incident on the boardwalk of Rockaway Beach, was arrested and charged with assault in 2014, when he was seen on video hitting a 16-year-old boy with his gun during a marijuana bust. Afanador and another officer involved were acquitted in the incident, according to the New York Post.

He was put on modified duty following the incident, in which he and another police officer, Tyrone Isaac, chased 16-year-old Kaheem Tribble through the streets of Brooklyn before cornering him up against a gate.

Video caught by nearby security cameras showed one officer punching Tribble in the face, and the second hitting him with a pistol, according to DNA Info. CBS New York reported that Tribble's attorney said the incident left him with broken teeth and other mouth injuries.

Afanador returned to the NYPD after his acquittal. But according to the Associated Press, in his 15 years with the department, he has been involved in eight incidents in which people complained to the city's Civilian Complaint Review. Complaints included use-of-force, refusing to seek medical treatment, and using discourteous language. The only complaints that led to charges were connected to the incident involving Tribble.

The NYPD acted swiftly to suspend Afanador on Sunday following the Rockaway Beach incident.

In footage of the incident — first seen through a video filmed by a bystander and later through body-camera footage released by the NYPD, four officers can be seen piling on top of a Black man, identified by The New York Times as 35-year-old Ricky Bellevue. One of the officers can be seen wrapping his arm around Bellevue's neck.

Bellevue's lawyer, Lori Zeno, told the Times that her client lost consciousness during the incident, and was later treated at a hospital for swollen wrists and a scalp injury.

"Accountability in policing is essential. After a swift investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau, a police officer involved in a disturbing apparent chokehold incident in Queens has been suspended without pay," New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement on Twitter. "While a full investigation is still underway, there is no question in my mind that this immediate action is necessary."

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