New York City police attempts to enforce social distancing measures last weekend resulted in a conflict between cops and residents with one officer caught on video striking a bystander on Saturday. The incident has angered activists who question just where and among whom these measures are being enforced.

The incident took place on a warm afternoon in lower Manhattan where police attempted to disperse a crowd that was violating rules mandated by the city to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Two people, identified by The New York Post as Shakiem Brunsom, 31, and Ashley Serrano, 22, allegedly would not move when told to do so by cops and resisted arrest, according to a police report, the newspaper said. 

However, local news website Gothamist reports that things went awry after plainclothes officers ordered Brunsom and Serrano to separate even though witnesses say they were adhering to the six foot social distancing mandate.  

Brunsom was wrestled to the ground while Serrano screamed of her innocence. That brought a crowd of spectators nearby, which in turn frustrated an officer, identified by The Post as Officer Francisco Garcia.

“Move the f*ck back right now!” Garcia warned an onlooker who police say pointed a taser at him and took an aggressive stance towards Garcia.

“What you flexing for? Don’t flex!” he says as he begins to spark his taser. 

Officer Garcia can then be seen grabbing Donni Wright, 33, identified as the onlooker. Garcia can be heard on the video calling Wright the n-word, throwing him to the sidewalk, slapping him upside the head and kneeling on top of him as another officer applies handcuffs.

NYPD officials say Garcia felt threatened, claiming Wright took a fighting stance, which was not apparent in the video. In fact, the video only shows Wright with his hands at his side clenching his fists. The department, however, claims Garcia was injured in the melee.

"Donni wasn’t being aggressive, he was just talking," Daquan Owens, the man who took the video, told Gothamist. "He never raised his hands or hit him. Cop just took it upon himself to start beating on him. I was standing right next to him. I could hear everything."

Wright was charged with assaulting an officer, menacing and resisting arrest, The Post reported. Both Brunsom and Serrano were also charged with resisting arrest. Brunsom was cited for marijuana possession and Serrano with criminal weapons possession because of a stun gun she was allegedly carrying. Attorney Tahanie Aboushi tweeted that Wright was freed.

After the incident, Garcia was stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty pending an internal investigation, according to The Associated Press.

Activists are drawing ironic parallels between how social distancing enforcement is conducted in a largely minority community like the Lower East Side, where the incident occurred and places like Central Park, where mostly whites congregated over the weekend. While several were issued summons for violating the social distancing rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus, there were absolutely no violent confrontations with the cops.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea expressed displeasure over the incident and how the enforcement was conducted. 

"We can be better than that quite frankly," said Shea, according to NBC New York. "We’ll learn from it, continue to train and try to get better. I would also remind you that de-escalation takes two, there are two people involved in every encounter."

The NYPD issued 43 summonses over the weekend around the city for violations of social distancing measures since the city has been on shutdown. Currently there are more than 168,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York City and 13,000 deaths, according to the city’s health department.