"The law-enforcement official said Mr. Orta is known by a street name of "Sparks" and has a prior record going back to 2009, including criminal trespass, assault and drug possession.
Most recently, he was charged in May with robbery with a box cutter, the official said. In June 2013, Mr. Orta was charged with gun possession after he allegedly threatened to kill someone, the official said."
Yes, and how convenient that the NYC cops did not seek his arrest until AFTER he videoed one of their “finest” committing an, at best, questionable, and at worst, illegal act. Funny the timing of that circumstance.
His past record notwithstanding, his present circumstance neither diminishes nor abrogates the act he captured and publicly exposed.
The cops are becoming increasingly militarized, increasingly thuggish, and increasingly possessed by an elitist attitude that paints all situations as “us against them.” While I have no sympathy for the criminal element of our society, I neither appreciate nor trust that which presently passes for police officers. Most of whom I have discovered are unapologetic jerks, and, in some cases, every bit as criminal in their actions as those whom they are charged to “protect” us from.