Cop caught on vid pistol-whipping & kicking man after high-speed chase

A police lieutenant who works with a specialized NYPD unit was placed on modified duty Friday after video showed him kicking a man in the head and striking him with his pistol after a high-speed vehicle chase in Manhattan, law enforcement sources told the Daily News.

When officers in an unmarked car tried to pull over Brian Marchany, 25, near the FDR Dr. and E. 59th St. around 1 a.m. Thursday, Marchany hit the gas — leading the cops on a high-speed pursuit, police said.

The chase ended more than 60 blocks south with a crash on Church St. near Park Place in TriBeCa, cops said.

There, Marchany opened the door of his wrecked Toyota and appeared to surrender.

Lt. Nikolaos Stefopoulos walked up to Marchany and hit him with his pistol before holstering it as the other officers forced Marchany to the ground, said law enforcement sources whose account is supported by video posted on X.

As his NYPD colleagues struggled to handcuff Marchany, the officer identified by sources as Stefopoulos kicked him in the head, producing an audible thud, the online video shows.

“Put your hands behind your back, you f—ing retard,” another officer yelled, according to the video. Marchany then began shaking.

“He looks like he’s drunk,” a bystander yelled. “That’s why he shaking, because the n—a got hit. They were stomping him out and all that.”

Marchany had swallowed heroin at some point before or during his arrest, according to police.

More officers responded and Marchany was given a dose of Narcan, police said.

EMS rushed Marchany to a hospital. Marchany was still hospitalized and awaiting arraignment Friday evening on a slew of charges that include reckless driving, driving without a license, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.

Both Marchany and his passenger — Tiffany Victor, 25 — live in the Bronx, according to police. Victor was also slapped with a drug charge following the pursuit.

Stefopoulos was placed on modified duty as of Friday afternoon, sources told The News.

He and his khaki-clad colleagues seen in the video are members of the NYPD Community Response Unit, which has an enforcement mandate that can take them across precincts and boroughs — often in high speed vehicle pursuits.

The unit was formed in 2022 following the dissolution of the citywide plainclothes anti-crime units.