New York City police officers threw a prankster to the ground for dancing behind them in a video that was posted to YouTube on Saturday.
The incident came about while prankster Alexander Bok was carrying out a dare issued by daytime talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who challenged viewers to “sneak up behind perfect strangers” and “dance behind them without them knowing it.”
Bok danced behind unsuspecting New Yorkers in and around Grand Central Terminal in the video, which was reportedly filmed on Dec. 24.
Bok started performing the “Gangnam Style” dance behind an NYPD officer but stopped when the cop noticed him and turned around. At that point several cops could be heard questioning Bok while he tried to explain that he was just dancing.
“What’s wrong with you, bro?” one of the cops could be heard saying in the video.
“What are you dancing in the street for?” another asked.
“Are you a fucking asshole?” another cop could be heard saying.
The verbal questioning eventually got physical and ended when one of the police officers pushed Bok to the pavement.
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This incident came amid particularly high tensions between police officers and citizens after a white police officer was not charged in the chokehold death of a black Staten Island man. Ongoing protests and unrest were further compounded after two NYPD officers were gunned down in an ambush attack on Dec. 20 in Brooklyn.
Watch the video below, courtesy of Bok’s YouTube channel:
h/t Mic
I don’t think I’ll stress out, surprise, or alarm a copper unnecessarily this winter.
As a black man, I’m really trying to stay current on the list of things that black people are not allowed to do. So far, as I understand it, we are not allowed to protest violently; we are not allowed to protest peacefully; we are not allowed to wear t-shirts that have protest related statements on them; we are not allowed to raise our hands in a gesture of protest, and, now, we are not allowed to dance in public. The list is getting very long.
It was totally justified. The man was dancing in a threatening manner. He deserved anything that happened to him.
That’s some fine community outreach by the NYPD.
So what is the appropriate way to stop a bad guy with a groove?