NYPD Officers Caught On Camera Beating Aspiring Rapper

On July 7, Thomas Jennings was hungry. He strolled into New York Fried Chicken & Pizza on the corner of Saratoga Ave and Decatur St and attempted to buy two slices of pizza, a meal that was supposed to cost $3. Instead, it ran him brutal injuries and a week of being locked up without bail. Here's how it happened, according to a report in the New York Daily News: Jennings, who raps under the name Sen’Tekk and with the group BeenFamily, only had $2 in cash on him, and according to his statement, he stepped outside to attempt to borrow the third from a passerby. (The criminal complaint from store employees say he fled the store with salt and pepper shakers and that he threatened them with a knife.) Police found Jennings just a couple blocks away, at the Roslin grocery store on Bainbridge St, where the above video takes place.

As can be clearly seen in the footage, Jennings raises his hands, indicating surrender, before two NYPD officers beat him with fists and batons. "I didn't even know it was coming," Jennings says; his wounds required five stitches to close. Following the beating and arrest, he was held without bail until July 13. At that point, he was released due to the fact the DA did not present the case to a grand jury. Jennings' lawyer, Amy Rameau, says she expects the case to be dismissed. A Brooklyn District Attorney and the NYPD's internal affairs unit are investigating the allegations of excessive force, police spokespeople say. The officers in the video are Pearce Martinez and Lenny Lutchman; the latter previously settled a federal lawsuit alleging excessive force for $12,500. Jennings has a lawsuit pending in Brooklyn Federal Court regarding an unrelated incident in which responding police officers allegedly broke his eye socket. Listen to the aspiring rapper's music below: