The city’s police department is investigating an assault after the video of the incident went viral yesterday.
The video shows a young male approach an older male in the crosswalk. There’s brief exchange of words. The male strikes the victim in the head area. The victim falls to the ground.
“It’s an active criminal investigation,” said police director Jerry Speziale. He said detectives are working to determine whether the video is authentic, its origin, location where the assault occurred, and identities of the actors and the victim shown in the clip.
The video shows a light skinned male with an afro dressed in blue jean jacket, beige pants, and white sneakers.
“Don’t hit him!” yells a female voice in the video as the actor approaches the victim. “Knock him out. Knock him out,” shouts out a male voice.
Speziale said detective captain Heriberto Rodriguez is investigating the incident. Rodriguez could not be reached for comments.
The vicious assault video being described as a “knockout game” incident has received thousands of views on social media networks.
After the victim is struck and falls to the ground the male voice that egged on the actor to knock out the victim can be heard loudly laughing.
Speziale said police will take swift action against those involved in the incident after the video has been vetted out. “We will not tolerate this type of behavior or action in our city,” Speziale said in a video statement.
Jay Rahman contributed to this report.