A Haverstraw police sergeant has been placed on paid administrative leave after surveillance video surfaced showing the officer choking a teen outside a local bodega.
The incident happened Aug. 3, shortly after the town’s Dominican Day Parade. Video shows the sergeant grabbing 17-year-old Andres Garcia by the neck and slamming him into a store window outside Central Market La Bodega on Broadway.
Police say the sergeant will remain on paid leave until the department’s internal investigation is complete, adding that paid leave is standard procedure in all internal reviews.
The investigation remains ongoing.