'Textbook police brutality': Critics blast NYPD for swarming train and tasing Black man after alleged fare violation

Body cam video released Wednesday shows what New York City police claim prompted a large group of officers to swarm a subway train on July 6, before tasing and arresting a Black man following an alleged fare violation.

In the bodycam video, the man who was later tased and arrested, David Crowell, can be seen standing inside the subway train telling officers at the door, "Suck my d*ck. I paid, b*tch. F*ck the police. I'm gonna rush you."

A viral video posted previously shows at least six officers swarming the train and surrounding Crowell, attempting to handcuff him. Crowell again tells the officers that he paid his fare, before attempting to push them away. As the officers subdue him and prepare to handcuff his arms behind his back, one of the officers deploys a Taser, shooting Croswell in the back and causing him to fall to the floor.

According to NYC's NBC affiliate, police say the incident started when Crowell paid his fare before opening the gate for someone else. When officers approached, the other man apologized and paid his fare, but Crowell allegedly taunted officers.

Critics blasted the officers' actions.

"Response was above the top. That response was the textbook of police brutality," wrote Black Lives Matter activist Anthony Beckford .

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Beckford added, calling for the officers' firing. "A gang of @NYPDnews officers swarmed onto a train, jumped on and tased a young Black Man. They accused him of fare evasion and many witnesses on the train, tried to explain to the cops that he did pay his fare."

Jennvine Wong with the Legal Aid Society's police accountability project told the station that Crowell could have been seriously injured: "One thing I would note is the fare is $2.75. We have six salaried officers on here. The money spent would have been much better spent buying Metrocards for those who can't afford them."

Pat Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association, defended the officers' actions: "Insults alone don't phase us, but when they cross over into threats of violence, we need to take action. If this individual felt bold enough to threaten a group of uniformed cops, what is he going to do to those straphangers once the train doors close?"

Beckford responded by blasting the PBA as a "racist hate group," calling Lynch a "bigot ... who supported Trump's racism."

Crowell faces charges of menacing, harassment and resisting arrest.

Watch the two videos below.