Mailman Says Camera Footage Saved Him During Controversial NYPD Arrest.

The on-duty postal worker whose controversial arrest in Crown Heights was caught on video said his run-in with police two weeks ago could’ve been uglier had it not been recorded.

“The only thing that I think saved me was that it was on videotape,” mailman Glenn Grays, 27, told "CBS This Morning" on Monday. “I was extremely terrified. I was afraid if I didn’t comply, something was going to happen to me.” 

Grays, whose wife is a police officer, said he was working his postal route March 17 when an unmarked police car nearly sideswiped him as he tried to cross President Street near Franklin Avenue.

When he told the officers they had nearly hit him, four plainclothes officers surrounded Grays before cuffing him and yelling at him to stop resisting arrest. The entire incident was caught on video by a passerby.

“I believe they wanted him to resist,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who released the video, told CBS This Morning. “Those officers were extremely aggressive. He was smart enough not to resist. I believe because of that, he’s sitting here today telling his story.” 

Once in the police car, Grays claimed the chaos continued.

“I was told to shut up a numerous amount of times,” he said. “They rear-ended a car and I wound up from the back seat banging my left shoulder onto the driver’s seat and banging my face onto their arm rest.”

Grays was issued a disorderly conduct summons after his arrest. The NYPD has said the incident is under review.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Monday that he reviewed multiple videos of the incident and was "not pleased" with what he saw, and that the officers were supposed to be in uniform as part of their detail. 

"All four of these people, including the lieutenant, were in street clothes, not in uniform," Bratton said during an unrelated press conference Monday. "That’s in direct violation of our patrol guide. So we will be investigating that element of it.” 

Grays said he hopes the officers involved will be disciplined, but not fired.

Source:https://www.dnainfo.com/