An NYPD sergeant admitted to committing police misconduct by punching a man in a Harlem holding cell and attacking another man during an arrest in the Upper West Side, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Wednesday.
NYPD Sergeant and Brooklyn resident Phillip Wong, 37, pleaded guilty to assault in the third degree and attempted assault in the third degree, both of which are classified as misdemeanors.
According to court documents, on Oct. 4, 2019, Wong was a sergeant assigned to Transit District 3 and had served 15 years with the NYPD. On this day, a group of officers brought a 48-year-old man and two other individuals to the precinct on West 145th Street for arrest processing, with Wong and two other officers escorting the man to the holding cells.
As the officers closed the cell door, the man — who was handcuffed at the time — kicked the door one time and started to spit at the officers. Wong then pushed past the other officers, reopened the door and punched the man in the face. The man was taken to a nearby hospital and given stitches for a laceration above his right eye.
In a separate incident on April 29, 2020, Wong observed officers under his supervision arresting a 35-year-old man at a subway station at West 96th Street and Broadway. The man was being arrested for punching another passenger on an arriving train.
As the officers led the man out of the station, he began to anti-Asian slurs and other obscenities, and as they reached the emergency exit the man kicked Wong in the leg. Wong and another officer brought the man, who was rear-cuffed, to the ground and Wong knelt on the man’s back as the man lay on his stomach. The man continued to taunt Wong and then shouted, “I can’t breathe!” WONG responded, “I don’t give a f**k if you can breathe or not!” and punched the man in the side of the face.
Wong then put both of his knees on the man’s back and bounced on him multiple times. The man was taken to the hospital, where medical staff determined he had not sustained any physical injuries.
Prosecutors were recommending 60 days jail, however Wong was sentenced to two years’ probation, anger management or counseling determined by probation, and 70 hours of community service.
“Law enforcement officials are sworn to serve and protect their communities, including New Yorkers in their custody,” said District Attorney Bragg. “In this case, Sergeant Wong violated not only his oath – but the law – during the violent arrests of two New Yorkers, on two separate occasions. Our Office will continue to investigate and prosecute police violence, and we encourage any victims or witnesses of similar conduct to report it to our Police Accountability Unit at https://www.manhattanda.org/
Updated at 2:45 p.m. on March 2, 2022.
