Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has condemned a “horrifying” viral video posted late Wednesday that appears to show at least three NYPD officers beating a cyclist with batons in the street. The video shows a cyclist trying to get away from an officer wearing a helmet and wielding a baton, but the officer follows the cyclist and begins repeatedly striking the person’s upper right leg. Two other cops, also with batons, then start hitting the cyclist, forcing the person off the bike before the short video abruptly ends. The video doesn’t show the lead-up to the incident. Ocasio-Cortez and former Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro swiftly condemned the scenes caught on camera. “Horrifying,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “This isn’t a problem of bad apples or incidents. This is an institutional and systemic crisis.” Castro wrote that violating the city’s 8 p.m. curfew is “no excuse for senselessly beating someone.” The NYPD is yet to comment on the video.
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