Police are supposed to be the people who uphold the law, but incidents like this one in New York keep reminding everyone that some officers act in ways that feel overbearing, unnecessary, and downright hostile. Many people already believe certain police officers love abusing their power, and what happened on a New York street recently only added more fuel to that belief.
The cameraman was simply hanging out on a New York sidewalk, sipping his juice while recording on his phone. When he noticed a parked police car nearby, he walked closer to film the interior, clearly curious but not doing anything illegal. That curiosity immediately backfired. Several New York police officers were nearby, and they apparently took offense to him inspecting their vehicle. Since they could not reasonably accuse him of a crime for just looking at a parked police car, they went after the drink in his hand. They accused him of drinking alcohol in public.
Within moments, the man was surrounded by multiple New York police officers. They demanded he hand over his drink. He refused, insisting that it was just juice. One officer even grabbed at his hand and tried to bend his thumb back to force the bottle out, a move that viewers online described as completely unnecessary and aggressive. When the bottle finally came into their hands, the truth was obvious. The man had not been lying at all. It really was just juice.
The cameraman started yelling, asking why they were harassing him and what their problem was. He cursed at them in frustration, pointing out that it is legal to drink juice in public and that they had no reason to detain him. He even demanded the officers show their IDs or badge numbers, something police in New York are supposed to provide when asked. Naturally, they refused.
Instead, the New York police officers acted like nothing had happened. They ignored him and pretended the situation was normal. When they threatened to arrest him, he demanded to know for what crime. As expected, the police offered no answer.
Online, people were furious. While ICE agents often take most of the public’s anger these days, this moment reminded everyone that police abuse of power has not gone anywhere. “State sanctioned criminals,” one user said. Another person questioned the heavy police gear, writing, “Dressed up like they are all about to go into combat. This country has gotten so weird.”
Some criticized the officers’ attitude, especially the moment one of them implied they do not work for the public. A Redditor wrote, “Them saying they do not work for us is how this got messed up in the first place. All public servants work for, I do not know, the public.”
Another added, “Without a badge most of those people would get laid out on a sidewalk taking involuntary naps messing with people the way they do. They get to hide behind that badge because there are no punishments for constitution violations.”
