NYPD Accused of Assaulting Gay Man During Pride 2014

A gay man has filed a federal lawsuit against the New York Police Department, alleging that officers shoved him to the ground, "piled on top" of him, and used homophobic slurs toward him as the young man left the city's Pride celebration last year, reports the New York Post.

Jacob Alejandro, 25, suffered broken ribs in addition to an injured elbow and left arm from his interaction with NYPD officers June 29, 2014, the Post reports from the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court.

Alejandro says he was walking down Christopher Street in New York City's Greenwich Village around 7:30 p.m. when the incident occurred. An officer, whom the Post does not identify, allegedly pushed Alejandro to the ground, from which point the situation quickly escalated. Several officers reportedly jumped on top of Alejandro and eventually took him to the Sixth Precinct station.

"While Mr. Alejandro lay on the ground bleeding, a defendant officer yelled, in sum, 'Get the fuck up, you faggot,'" the lawsuit alleges, according to the Post.

The criminal complaint relating to the case alleged that Alejandro jumped a barricade, then flailed his arms when NYPD officers attempted to intervene and arrest him. He was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, the Post reports. Those charges against Alejandro were ultimately dismissed, according to his lawsuit.

"There is something particularly vulgar about discriminatory antigay conduct from police officers working at a gay pride event," Alejandro's attorney, Baree Fett, told the Post in a Tuesday statement. "This lawsuit is about obtaining a measure of justice for Jacob."

"I have seen too much bias and bigotry from NYPD officers, and I hope my case makes a difference," Alejandro added in his statement to the Post.

Spokespeople for the NYPD declined to comment for the Post story. A spokeswoman for the city's law department said the office would "review the plaintiff's claims."

This latest lawsuit echoes similar allegations against the NYPD made earlier this month by a 31-year-old gay man in Staten Island, who contends that officers beat him while yelling antigay slurs at him. Louis Falcone says he will sue for civil rights violations stemming from a July 19 encounter in which he says police, responding to a noise complaint from Falcone's mother, threw him to the ground, calling him "fag," faggot," and speculating that he "probably has AIDS."

Falcone says he suffered a broken nose and lacerations, including additional damage to his foot, which was in a boot healing from an earlier procedure. Gawker reports that Falcone was uncooperative with police and spit in an officer's face. Shaky video of the incident shows the altercation, but the audio is inaudible.