Charges dropped in videotaped police beating at Chabad

All charges have been dropped against a homeless man shown on a video being beaten by New York police officers at a Chabad youth center in Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said Oct. 22 that it would drop the charges against Ehud Halevy, 21, who was arrested Oct. 8 for assault, resisting arrest and trespassing.

The New York Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit and the district attorney’s office are investigating the officers who beat Halevy before his arrest.

A video posted Oct. 14 on the Internet shows Halevy exchanging words with a male police officer and pushing away his hands after the officer had taken out handcuffs. Shortly after, the officer punches Halevy several times as he and a female officer wrestle Halevy to the couch where he was found sleeping.

During the two-minute incident, the female officer appears to use a truncheon and pepper spray on Halevy.

Halevy reportedly had been sleeping on the institute’s couch with permission for about a month. — jta