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| ‘What the Hell Is This?’ Officer in Viral Subway Video Didn’t Know He Had Gone Viral | ‘What the Hell Is This?’ Officer in Viral Subway Video Didn’t Know He Had Gone Viral |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| [What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] | [What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] |
| On late Sunday night a scuffle broke out between a New York police officer and five homeless men at a subway station in Manhattan. The officer single-handedly fended off all five with just his feet and his baton. | On late Sunday night a scuffle broke out between a New York police officer and five homeless men at a subway station in Manhattan. The officer single-handedly fended off all five with just his feet and his baton. |
| The scene was captured on video by a bystander and shared on social media, where it was viewed hundreds of thousands of times. But the officer, Syed Ali, had no idea the video had gone viral. | The scene was captured on video by a bystander and shared on social media, where it was viewed hundreds of thousands of times. But the officer, Syed Ali, had no idea the video had gone viral. |
| Then, at 5 a.m. on Monday, a fellow officer called Officer Ali and asked him if he had seen himself online. | Then, at 5 a.m. on Monday, a fellow officer called Officer Ali and asked him if he had seen himself online. |
| Officer Ali, who does not use social media, did not know he had even been filmed. | Officer Ali, who does not use social media, did not know he had even been filmed. |
| “Holy cow, what the hell is this?” he said he thought to himself after watching the video. | “Holy cow, what the hell is this?” he said he thought to himself after watching the video. |
| Many in New York and elsewhere had similar reactions. | Many in New York and elsewhere had similar reactions. |
| “What extraordinary professionalism and bravery by NYPD Officer Syed Ali,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter on Tuesday. Bill Bratton, Mr. de Blasio’s former police commissioner, agreed. And Councilman Chaim M. Deutsch, a Democrat from Brooklyn, presented Mr. Ali with a certificate and thanked him for showing “restraint and discipline in how he de-escalated the situation.” | “What extraordinary professionalism and bravery by NYPD Officer Syed Ali,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter on Tuesday. Bill Bratton, Mr. de Blasio’s former police commissioner, agreed. And Councilman Chaim M. Deutsch, a Democrat from Brooklyn, presented Mr. Ali with a certificate and thanked him for showing “restraint and discipline in how he de-escalated the situation.” |
| Officer Ali said he remembered certain things about the encounter: the trickle of sweat that ran down his neck, and the tension he felt during it. | Officer Ali said he remembered certain things about the encounter: the trickle of sweat that ran down his neck, and the tension he felt during it. |
| But Officer Ali said he was glad it was filmed because it allowed him to reconstruct the episode. | But Officer Ali said he was glad it was filmed because it allowed him to reconstruct the episode. |
| “The tension and the adrenaline was at full throttle, where I couldn’t even tell you the details the video is showing,” he said. “It may have saved me. Officers get crucified for garbage sometimes.” | “The tension and the adrenaline was at full throttle, where I couldn’t even tell you the details the video is showing,” he said. “It may have saved me. Officers get crucified for garbage sometimes.” |
| The episode began when a woman at the East Broadway subway station on the Lower East Side told Officer Ali she was scared because a group of people were bothering her. He said he told the men to leave the station. | The episode began when a woman at the East Broadway subway station on the Lower East Side told Officer Ali she was scared because a group of people were bothering her. He said he told the men to leave the station. |
| “That’s when I saw they started becoming a little aggressive, more combative,” he said. “The video kind of shows what happened after that.” | “That’s when I saw they started becoming a little aggressive, more combative,” he said. “The video kind of shows what happened after that.” |
| As the men approached him, Officer Ali repeatedly told them to stay back. Officer Ali kicked one man to the ground who had gotten too close. That man got back up and started throwing punches. Officer Ali responded with his baton. Then the other men began to approach him. | As the men approached him, Officer Ali repeatedly told them to stay back. Officer Ali kicked one man to the ground who had gotten too close. That man got back up and started throwing punches. Officer Ali responded with his baton. Then the other men began to approach him. |
| A bystander helped separate Officer Ali from his assailants. But then a different man broke through the informal barricade and lunged at Officer Ali. The man tripped over his own leg, stumbled and fell onto the tracks. | A bystander helped separate Officer Ali from his assailants. But then a different man broke through the informal barricade and lunged at Officer Ali. The man tripped over his own leg, stumbled and fell onto the tracks. |
| Officer Ali remembered calling to have the power shut off to the third rail after the man fell onto the tracks. (Even as the men were attacking him, Officer Ali said, he was worried about their safety.) | Officer Ali remembered calling to have the power shut off to the third rail after the man fell onto the tracks. (Even as the men were attacking him, Officer Ali said, he was worried about their safety.) |
| But many other details caught on the video were lost to him in the fog of adrenaline. | But many other details caught on the video were lost to him in the fog of adrenaline. |
| “Looking at the video now from the outside, I’m like, ‘Whoa, that was a pretty ugly situation,’” he said. | “Looking at the video now from the outside, I’m like, ‘Whoa, that was a pretty ugly situation,’” he said. |
| The video was not the first time Officer Ali had gotten noticed online. He had achieved a small measure of attention after Customs and Border Protection detained him at Kennedy Airport in the early months of the Trump administration, even though he was a citizen, a New York police officer and a combat veteran who had spent two years in Kuwait. | The video was not the first time Officer Ali had gotten noticed online. He had achieved a small measure of attention after Customs and Border Protection detained him at Kennedy Airport in the early months of the Trump administration, even though he was a citizen, a New York police officer and a combat veteran who had spent two years in Kuwait. |
| Officer Ali credited that military training with helping him maintain his cool when the group of men were coming at him. He said he never even considered drawing his gun, because he didn’t think the situation called for it. | Officer Ali credited that military training with helping him maintain his cool when the group of men were coming at him. He said he never even considered drawing his gun, because he didn’t think the situation called for it. |
| “We’ve been taught to properly use a piece of equipment based on the situation,” he said. | “We’ve been taught to properly use a piece of equipment based on the situation,” he said. |
| Two of the men, Eliseo Alvarez, 36, and Juan Nunez, 27, were arrested Wednesday night and charged with riot and obstructing governmental administration, the New York Police Department said. Mr. Alvarez was also charged with attempted assault, attempted criminal possession of a weapon and menacing. | |
| A third man involved in the episode will also be charged, the New York Police Department said in a statement Wednesday. | |
| After the attack Sunday night, the men, who were highly intoxicated, were taken to a hospital, treated and released, the department said. They were not initially charged in connection with the attack but were arrested the next day when officers observed them sleeping in the subway station. | After the attack Sunday night, the men, who were highly intoxicated, were taken to a hospital, treated and released, the department said. They were not initially charged in connection with the attack but were arrested the next day when officers observed them sleeping in the subway station. |
| At the time of the arrests, the district attorney’s office was not aware they were also connected to the attack in the video, the police department said. | At the time of the arrests, the district attorney’s office was not aware they were also connected to the attack in the video, the police department said. |