The arrest of a Brooklyn man by an NYPD captain reportedly showing him on video pistol-whipping the suspect during a struggle is under investigation by internal affairs cops, police said Friday.
Capt. Adan Munoz spotted Melvin Oliphant in Bedford-Stuyvesant on March 27 around 10:15 a.m. cruising with Pennsylvania license plates that didn’t match his 2019 BMW X7, according to court records.
Munoz, assigned to the nearby 79th Precinct since January, was in street attire and driving an unmarked vehicle when he stopped Oliphant.
When he ordered Oliphant out of the car, Oliphant instead stepped on the gas of the idling vehicle, racing its engine as the two men struggled, according to bystander video.
“Don’t make this mistake!” Munoz shouted.
Oliphant is shown beginning to step out, and as the two men grapple, Munoz strikes Oliphant on the forehead with his pistol, drawing shouts from bystanders.
Munoz then kicks Oliphant several times before uniformed cops racing to the scene join the captain and bring Oliphant to the ground, the video shows.
“Why you hit me with your gun?” the bleeding Oliphant is heard asking Munoz on the video.
“You were trying to take off on me!” Munoz shouts back.
“Why he ain’t got no camera on?” Oliphant says, likely referring to the body-worn cameras that officers up to the rank of lieutenant are generally required to wear while on duty.
The responding cops were eventually able to cuff the struggling 44-year-old, who lives down the same block, police said.
Police said cops found crack cocaine inside the stolen BMW. Oliphant was charged with drug possession, resisting arrest, and other charges. Police said his driver’s license was suspended.
He pled not guilty at his March 28 arraignment, was released without bail, and is due back in court in June.
Munoz, who joined the NYPD in 2004, has been the subject of 15 civilian complaints and a bevy of lawsuits, records show. He was promoted to captain last year, according to NYPD personnel records. He remains on active duty as the incident is reviewed, police officials said.
In February, NYPD Lieutenant Nikolaos Stefopoulos was placed on modified duty after video captured him striking a suspect with his pistol and kicking him in the head after a wild car chase through Manhattan.
