Bust cop in sea shoot
Latest bad behavior charge for NYPD officer
An NYPD cop who became the first officer arrested under the state’s new anti-chokehold law was busted Sunday for firing a gun while off-duty into the ocean on Long Island, police said.
David Afanador, 39, was arrested about 7 a.m. on Sunday after someone called 911 to report shots fired at the Long Beach Boardwalk near Franklin Blvd., sources said.
When local police arrived they found Afanador carrying a holstered 9-mm. Beretta handgun, sources said. He was with three other people, including Jennifer Sonnick, 36, and cops believe he fired several times into the ocean then handed his gun to her so she could also shoot at the sea.
Afandaor is on restricted duty and isn’t authorized to carry or possess guns, Long Beach police said Sunday. Besides the handgun, he had three high-capacity magazines in his possession, cops said.
Afanador and Sonnick, who live
in Long Beach, were hit with a variety of gun charges and Afanador was also charged with possessing alcohol at Ocean Beach Park.
He was suspended without pay Sunday morning after the NYPD received notice that Long Beach police arrested him for reckless endangerment, police sources said.
The 16-year NYPD veteran was arrested in June 2020 after a caughton-video incident on the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk. He and other officers pinned 35-year-old Ricky Bellevue to the ground after Bellevue
and two other men taunted cops on the Boardwalk for about 10 minutes.
Afanador grabbed Bellevue after he reached for an object and approached another officer, saying, “You scared? You scared?” Video shows the officer’s arm wrapped around Bellevue’s neck, who appears to pass out before another officer pulls Afanador off him.
Afanador remains free without bail as he awaits prosecution of felony strangulation and attempted strangulation charges. His next appearance in the Queens case is scheduled for Wednesday.
The state chokehold ban was enacted after the May 25 killing of George Floyd beneath the knee of a Minneapolis cop, setting off national demonstrations and demands for police reform.
Afanador has been the subject of eight Civilian Complaint Review Board investigations involving 18 charges since he joined the NYPD in 2005. Those cases include an excessive force chokehold allegation in January 2010 that the watchdog agency ultimately deemed unsubstantiated, records show.
In another case, Afanador and a second officer, Tyrane Isaac, faced criminal charges after beating and pistol-whipping 16-year-old suspect Kaheem Tribble so severely in August 2014 that the teen’s teeth were cracked. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun found the officers not guilty in 2016.
Afanador was docked 60 suspension days in 2016 after he was found guilty of departmental excessive force charges in that case.
His defense attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment Sunday.