REAL B / NEWS

THE HARLEM ARREST VIDEO: FORCE, CONTEXT AND WHAT THE BODYCAM SHOWED

A video showing an NYPD officer striking a young Black woman during a 2022 Harlem arrest is circulating again online, but the fuller record is more complicated than the viral caption suggests.

The woman, Tamani Crum, was 19 when officers were arresting a man wanted in an attempted-murder case on West 136th Street. The NYPD said Crum interfered with the arrest and struck an officer. Body-camera footage later released by the department showed the confrontation before the officer struck her with an open hand.

VIDEO / NYPD BODY-CAMERA FOOTAGE

Crum was arrested on a charge of obstructing governmental administration. She pleaded not guilty and was released on her own recognizance. Prosecutors did not pursue additional charges of assaulting an officer or resisting arrest, according to CBS New York.

The officer’s use of force was reviewed by the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau. Police defended the action, while Crum’s attorney called it excessive and activists demanded accountability.

The lesson for a news story like this is simple: the viral clip matters, but so does the footage before it. Both belong in the record.

Source: CBS New York; NYPD body-camera report.

REAL B / NEWS • NOVEMBER 1, 2026

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