On Wednesday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams held a press conference to ask the NYPD for assistance with an incident that took place last week. A mailman, Glenn Grays, was on duty when an unmarked police car drove too close (and almost hit) his truck. He reportedly shouted in response, which is what folks tend to do when their vehicles are nearly struck. Some would even call this an involuntary reflex. Adams says what came next was worthy of disciplinary action against several police officers.
Grays, clad in a postal uniform, emerged from his vehicle to deliver a package. Likewise, four plainclothes officers stepped out of their car and approached the mailman. The officers began to cuff him, and when Grays did not immediately cooperate, he received a “Stop resisting! You’re going to get hurt if you don’t give me your f*cking hands.” They arrested him and left the mail truck completely unattended, which is a violation of federal law. Most of the action was recorded on a cell-phone camera, and Adams — who is a former officer — reviewed the video during the press conference. He calls this a “questionable arrest” for these reasons:
“It is not a crime for someone to voice outrage after almost being struck by a vehicle … It is not a crime to state that you’re angry at someone who almost hit you. That is not a crime … If they would do that to him in his postal uniform, they would do it to any person of color in that community.”
Grays was only detained at the police station for a short period of time, but the NYPD has yet to issue an explanation of why he was arrested at all. Before last week, Grays possessed a completely clean record, and he walked away from this incident with a summons. This clip shows the moments when things got really bizarre between the NYPD and the postal worker.
(Warning: The language here is NSFW for most workplaces.)
(Via Gothamist and New York Daily News)