Home  /  Officer Profiles  /  V. Ciardiello  /  Street Vendor Kicked in Back

14 September 2014

Jonathan Daza, a 22-year-old street vendor, was packing up his fruit stand with his family after a Fifth Avenue street fair when a large group of officers approached the table and told the family they needed to leave, and that their permit ended at 6pm. One of the officers began questioning Daza’s sister, Cindy Daza, and Jonathan told her she didn’t have to respond. The officer then turned his attention to Jonathan and began grabbing him.

Eyewitness video shows the scene escalating quickly. A number of people were restrained, including Jonathan Daza who was pinned to the ground by a group of officers. While on the ground, he was punched by one officer and reportedly told officers “I can’t breathe.” Then Vincent Ciardiello walked up and kicked Daza in the back before walking away.

Another sister, Wendy Daza was also arrested for protesting the violence. Daza’s girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time was also slammed into a table during the incident.

According to a civil lawsuit filed by the family, Daza and his sisters were charged with resisting arrest, harassment and disorderly conduct. As can be seen in multiple videos, numerous other bystanders were restrained, pushed or harassed by officers during the event.

Several days after the incident, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton suspended Ciardiello for 30 days. According to leaked documents published by Buzzfeed, Ciardiello was placed on one year of Dismissal Probation, even though dismissal from the NYPD was suggested. Bratton told reporters “As best as I could tell looking at that video, it seemed to have been totally unprovoked.”

It took five months before Daza was cleared of the charges. The family has sued New York City et al. According to NY1, “Daza said he is grateful for the video, which he said proves his innocence and shows people what really happened.”

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