Video shows NYPD officers using a Taser on a Black man on the subway after accusing him of letting a rider into the station without paying

• Bystander video released on Wednesday shows a Black man being hit with a stun gun on the NYC subway.

• NYPD said the man, David Crowell, helped another rider into the subway for free.

• NYPD bodycam video shows Crowell getting in a confrontation with officers before they used a Taser.

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Bystander video shows the moment New York Police Department officers surrounded and stunned a Black man on the subway for, the police said, letting another rider into the station for free.

The incident happened on July 6 at the 116th Street station in Harlem, the NYPD tweeted on Wednesday.

The man has since been identified as David Crowell, 29.

The NYPD said Crowell got into a confrontation with officers after opening an emergency gate to let another rider into the station, helping the other person bypass the turnstiles to pay.

The NYPD told NBC New York that while the man that Crowell let into the station went on to pay for his ride when confronted by officers, Crowell got into a heated exchange with the police.

The New York County Defender Services, which is defending Crowell, pushed back on the NYPD's narrative, telling Insider in an email that Crowell had paid the other rider's fare.

The bystander video shows officers boarding the train and surrounding Crowell, who proceeded to flail around as an officer tried to put him in handcuffs.

Then another officer is seen taking out his Taser and stunning Crowell, who is seen doubling over onto the floor of the subway car as bystanders scream.

Shortly after that video went viral on Wednesday, the NYPD released bodycam footage of the confrontation with Crowell that led up to his arrest.

In the bodycam footage, Crowell is seen yelling at officers and flipping them off.

"You bust that s---, I'm going to run you. I promise you," Crowell is heard saying at one point.

Gothamist reported that Crowell was charged with third-degree menacing, second-degree harassment, resisting arrest, and second-degree obstruction of governmental administration.

None of the charges was in connection to letting the other rider into the station for free, Gothamist reported. The Manhattan district attorney has declined to prosecute such cases since 2017, the outlet said.

"The charges levied against Mr. Crowell are legally insufficient," Bethany Bonsu, the attorney representing Crowell, said in a statement to Gothamist. "There was no reason for almost 10 NYPD officers to corner Mr. Crowell on the subway and tase him."

Meanwhile, the NYPD union released a statement in defense of the officers' actions.

"Insults alone don't faze us, but when they cross over into threats of violence, we need to take action," said Pat Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, NBC New York reported. "If this individual felt bold enough to threaten a group of uniformed cops, what is he going to do to those straphangers once the train doors close?"

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio weighed in on the videos on Thursday, saying fare evasion is "not acceptable," but that the situation should have been de-escalated.

"The goal is to deescalate. Clearly here we did not end up with a deescalated situation. So, this needs to be looked at carefully to see what can be done differently going forward," de Blasio said, the New York Post reported.

The NYPD did not immediately return Insider's requests for comment.

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