NAACP Protests More "Brutality Against Black Officers"

says two white policemen in Yonkers assaulted a black NYPD officer as they tried to pin him with a purse snatching. Sgt. Kenneth Kissiedu, who lives in Yonkers, was heading to work in the Bronx when local cops got a call about a theft nearby. In a canvas of the area, they spotted Kissiedu walking to his car. "Yo, Yo," they allegedly shouted trying to get his attention. Then they saw that he had a gun.

The sergeant says he took offense at being called “Yo,” but the officers claim he aggravated the situation by not cooperating and by waiting to identify himself as a police officer until he was already in cuffs. "He, as an officer, should know better than anybody how to handle these things," Yonkers PBA president Keith Olson told WABC adding that, "He refused to cooperate. He was belligerent. He cursed at the officers." According to the Journal News, he was “wrestled to the ground.” Afterwards Kissiedu was handed a misdemeanor obstruction charge and was suspended for 30 days.

Black law enforcement organizations demand that the two white cops also be suspended while the force conducts its investigation. Together with the NAACP they are calling the incident “another case of police brutality against black officers and black men.” "It's thuggery in Yonkers, and it really needs vigilance and strong oversight," said Karen Edmundson, of the Yonkers NAACP.