Suspect, family react after viral video shows officer boxing with man in Harlem

HARLEM (WABC) -- The NYPD is investigating a videotaped confrontation between an officer and a suspect on the street, with authorities attempting to determine whether the use of force was justified.

Saykou George and his friend Jun Ice were walking along Frederick Douglas Boulevard near 131st Street in Harlem Wednesday afternoon when they were stopped by police. Jun Ice said something didn't feel right, so he started recording on his cell phone.

Saykou George's attorney tells Eyewitness News that George has been having a hard time since the arrest due to unrelenting comments on social media. They believe they video is clear evidence the officer escalated the incident, and now want police training to be reviewed.

The video showed Saykou George in a confrontation with an undercover police officer Wednesday in Harlem. Police say they spotted George with a knife clipped to his pants.

30-year-old George let his mother and attorney do all the talking at the National Action Network, where they claim the video shows the office was the aggressor.

"I thank God that my son is here today, because it could have went in a different way," says George's mother, Tracy Lee.

Lee says she has always taught her son to obey the law, which from the cell phone video, he seems to be doing when he gives the officer his ID.

"He did everything he can to obey the law - it still turned out it could have been a disaster," adds Lee.

The video also shows the officer pushing George several times as George attempts to walk away when his ID wasn't returned. The officer then took out handcuffs, and it quickly escalates with the officer swinging, and both men eventually fist fighting.

"What you saw never called for an officer striking and punching and taking such an aggressive stancein their circumstances," says George's Attorney Anthony Mayol.

In fact, Mayol is calling for Police Commissioner William Bratton to take a better look at police training.

"Improve their training, right their community relationships, their understanding of things," Mayol adds.

The arrest is being reviewed by internal affairs, but Bratton believes the officer did nothing wrong.

PBA President Pat Lynch also weighed in saying people do not have the right to resist arrest.