Charges vs. man in cop clash axed

Criminal charges have been dropped against a Queens reckless driving suspect NYPD cops subdued with a knee-on-neck hold that looked similar to the one that killed George Floyd, officials said Thursday.

Misdemeanor reckless endangerment and other charges against Sircarlyle Arnold were dropped during a hearing in Queens Criminal Court, law enforcement sources and his attorneys at the Legal Aid Society said.

Arnold, 34, was arrested Jan. 2 for nearly hitting a cop with his illegal all-terrain vehicle as he drove in circles at a vigil for a friend in South Jamaica.

A video clip of the arrest appears to show Officer Thomas Montario with his knee on the back of Arnold’s neck for at least several seconds after he was handcuffed.

“Look at his knee!” one witness yelled over and over, the video shows.

The incident drew immediate comparisons to George Floyd, killed by a Minneapolis cop who pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck last May. Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, is currently on trail for murder.

“The charges against Sircarlyle Arnold should have been dismissed weeks ago, just as quickly as they were brought,” Olayemi Olurin the Legal Aid attorney who represented Arnold, said in a statement. “Mr. Arnold is still reeling from this violent arrest, during which an officer placed him in a knee-on-neck hold, the same technique used in the killing of George Floyd.”

Olurin demanded that the NYPD “take swift action to ensure that all officers involved in this incident are held accountable and to send a strong signal to all of NYPD that violent acts such as this, all too frequently employed against men of color, will not be tolerated.”

On Friday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that her office would not be prosecuting Montario. A city law passed in 2020 subjects officers to prosecution for using holds that excessively constrict detainees’ breathing or blood flow.

“There is insufficient evidence of an unlawful method of restraint being used during the handcuffing procedure of Mr. Arnold,” Katz said in a statement.

Montario remains on active duty as the NYPD conducts its own investigation of the incident.