NYPD officer caught pushing protester to the ground charged with assault and harassment

A New York Police Department officer will be charged with assault, criminal mischief, harassment, and menacing after pushing a protester to the ground and cursing at her on May 29, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Tuesday.

Vincent D'Andraia was suspended without pay last week after a video showed him pushing 20-year-old Dounya Zayer to the ground in Brooklyn and calling her a "b-tch" as he walked away. Videos have captured other NYPD officers violently pushing and beating other protesters. One other officer involved in a separate incident has been suspended, but D'Andraia is the only officer to face charges so far.

Zayer was one of hundreds of people gathered at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to protest police brutality, especially against black people. A reporter captured video of D'Andraia shoving Zayer to the ground. Zayer then suffered a seizure and was treated in a hospital for a concussion, she later said.

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New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea apologized for the "disturbing" incident, but Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch blamed Shea and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio for "sacrificing cops to save their own skin."