A New York shelter security guard was suspended without pay Wednesday after a video was released showing him punching a Venezuelan immigrant who recently arrived in the city in the face, according to the newspaper. The New York Times”.
The video shows the migrant, identified by the newspaper as Meiver Martínez, annoyed, yelling at the officer repeatedly in Spanish, “Don’t hit me,” and then kicks a locker. Immediately afterwards, the officer, whose name has not been revealed and who was staring at him, hit him on the cheek, reported the Efe news agency.
According to the “Times”, Martínez, 21, has said that the officer had been harassing him because he was slow to get out of bed. Also that after the incident, about eight officers jumped on him, kicked him and shot him with a stun gun three times.
Martínez, who arrived in the city a month ago, also assured that he was handcuffed and taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was treated, and that he was not charged with any crime.
The Department of Homeless Services, which runs the shelters, has said it does not tolerate “any form of violence or misconduct” and is investigating the incident, which occurred at a Brooklyn borough shelter.
Harassment of migrants in shelters
According to the «Times», NGOs have denounced that migrants they have left the shelters because they have allegedly been harassed and assaulted by other residents and mistreated by their staff.
The video has caused consternation in organizations such as Se Hace Camino New Yorkwhich has demanded that the Mayor’s Administration, Eric Adams, take “immediate” measures to guarantee the safety and well-being in the shelters.
While the Venezuelan activist Jesús Aguais, director of Aids for Life, pointed out that this incident is an isolated case, that not all those who have arrived should be judged for this fact and that both versions should be known.
