Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said Thursday that the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau Task Force is investigating. Advocates called for Detective Kendo Kinsey to be fired after a bystander captured video of the confrontation. As of Thursday, there was no change in his duty status. Sewell also authorized the release of body camera footage, which shows the woman approaching Kinsey, asking “What’s the problem?” and struck the detective in the chest while officers arrested a man wanted in an Aug. 12 shooting that police said involved several suspects shooting multiple people. Kinsey is then shown punching her with an open hand, knocking her to the ground on a Harlem street. She remained conscious and was taken to a hospital at her request, Sewell said. Mayor Eric Adams defended Kinsey, saying he and other officers showed “great restraint” and “did what the system called for.” A crowd had gathered around the officers and tried to disrupt the arrest, Adams said. “I’m not going to tell the police officers to go out, arrest dangerous people and then come back later when they’ve done what they’re supposed to do and not say you protected the people of this city,” Adams said. The woman, Tamani Crum, 19, was one of three people involved in the Harlem incident who were arrested and charged with obstructing governmental administration, a misdemeanor. She was released without bond. A message seeking comment was left with her attorney. Kinsey became a New York City officer in 2005 and earned 10 commendations for outstanding police duty and commendable police duty, according to police records. He was promoted to detective last December and assigned to the Harlem precinct where Tuesday’s brawl took place. Kinsey has been the subject of 13 misconduct complaints, some for excessive use of force. Two complaints were documented: in 2011 for using obscene language and in 2015 for abuse of power, according to data from the city’s police department, the Civilian Complaint Review Board. Kinsey was acquitted in two charges, while others collapsed for various reasons, including a lack of cooperation from witnesses and the unavailability of accusers. The attempted-murder suspect, Elvin James, had an illegal “ghost gun” in his possession at the time of his arrest, a loaded Polymer 80 semi-automatic, Sewell said. James was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest. James is being held on $300,000 bail and is expected back in court on Friday. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney. Kinsey’s union leader suggested that by approaching James as he was arrested, Crum could have “grabbed the illegal firearm or helped the man use it against the police.” Detectives’ Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo said the union is exploring the possibility of suing Crum, a tactic it approved last year when Detective Vincent Cheung sued a protester who he said berated him with a racial slur. Cheung is appealing after a judge dismissed the case on free speech grounds. “Criminals in New York are used to there being no consequences for their dangerous, illegal actions – but when you attack a New York City detective to intervene in the arrest of a man armed with a gun, there are consequences,” DiGiacomo said. in a statement posted on the union’s Twitter account. __ On Twitter, follow Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak. Send confidential advice by visiting
