Dozens of concerned citizens gathered outside of Binghamton City Hall in upstate New York on Monday to protest what they say is an officer’s use of excessive force against a Black man during the early morning hours of New Year’s Day.
Video of the arrest, where a Binghamton Police Department officer appears to be kneeling on or near Hamail Waddell’s neck, has been circulating on social media, prompting activists to ask if members of law enforcement have learned anything since George Floyd’s death.
A police report made after the arrest noted that Waddell and several others had been involved in a late-night fight outside Dillinger’s Irish pub. As a result, the young man was charged with resisting arrest.
Local station WIVT reports that witnesses claim Waddell, who is of Asian and African-American descent, was not involved in the fight.
Those witnesses state a group of white men jumped a different man of color, alleging police watched from a distance until the fight escalated. Waddell is said to have been one of the witnesses to the first fight and tried to break it up. Officers stepped in and grabbed Waddell and threw him on the ground, his supporters say.
“We have fights frequently that are instigated by BU students, and they’re protected by law enforcement because the city does that for the university. And we are here today to say not only is that not OK, but their treatment over the weekend of this young man of color, who could be any one of our children, this is going to keep happening unless we continue to raise the alarm,” community activist Rebecca Rathmell said, adding the dustups happen almost on a bi-weekly basis.
Footage shot on a bystander’s cellphone shows the arresting officer with his knee squarely on the young person’s back and neck. The image reminded many people of a similar culture-shifting incident in Minneapolis a couple of years ago, where former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck, WBNG reports.
Salka Valerio, a community stakeholder and activist, said to the press that the community “had this conversation in 2020” about the maneuver to restrain a suspect.
“I don’t understand why in 2023, we’re out there in front of the police station talking about the same kneel that killed George Floyd,” Valerio continued.
