The NYPD officer who was caught on camera kneeling on a man’s neck during an arrest — images that echoed the death of George Floyd in Minnesota — will be charged internally this month, The Post has learned.
Officer Francisco Garcia was suspended after the violent encounter in the East Village on May 2 when the Taser-wielding cop in street clothes confronted an onlooker after a social distancing arrest near East 9th Street and Avenue D.
The two then faced off as Garcia yelled, “Move the f–k back right now!” and “What you flexing for? Don’t flex!”
Garcia then holstered his stun gun and punched the 33-year-old before using a knee to the neck to pin the man on the sidewalk, the video shows.
Charges are expected to be filed by Oct. 30, the Police Benevolent Association confirmed.
“Once again, City Hall and the NYPD’s leadership are putting politics before a police officer’s right to due process,” PBA president Patrick Lynch said in a statement.
“Instead of trying to make an example of P.O. Garcia, they should be holding themselves accountable for sending police officers out to enforce their half-baked policies in the first place.”
NYPD officer Francisco Garcia during the arrest in MayInstagramAt the end of May, the NYPD announced it would recommend internal charges against Garcia and the two other officers involved.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office deferred prosecution against Donni Wright, who was originally charged with assaulting a police officer, menacing and resisting arrest.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said after the incident that there were “certainly some tactics that I was not happy with” but added, “I would also like to remind you that de-escalation takes two, unfortunately.”
The status of the internal probes against the other two officers was not immediately known.


