NYPD park cops tackle 14-year-old migrant girl to the ground over selling fruit as furious crowd tells officers to let her go

An NYC park officer was seen tackling a 14-year-old migrant girl to the ground over selling fruit with her family. 

Frightening footage showed the moment an unidentified officer handcuffed the teen in Battery Park on Sunday around 2.00pm. 

As he tried to arrest the minor, a group of livid bystanders tried their best to pull her away from him while others shouted in protest. 

The unidentified migrant girl was allegedly selling fruit from an unlicensed cart with her family when the cop intervened. 

'NYPD first tried to detain the girl, then released her – then Parks got a hold of her and tried to cuff her. That’s when people started crowding around and trying to get the Parks officer off of her,' Marc Rebillet, who recorded the video, told Storyful. 

A NYC Parks officer is seen handcuffing a 14-year-old migrant girl in Battery Park on Sunday afternoon 

He tussled with a crowd of rowdy bystanders who tried to release the girl from his grip 

Video of the chaotic moment starts with one officer trying to detain the girl's mother, dressed in a bright yellow shirt, while another attaches handcuffs to her daughter's wrists. 

As both officers continue, a group of people start to yell at them while the girl screams and tries to break away. 

One person put their hand on the officer's arm before another cop, dressed in a black uniform, steps in.

A man shouts at the police: 'Let her go!' 

Another shouts: 'Get a female [officer],' as the girl is pulled in one direction by the cop, and in another by a girl dressed in a black baseball hat.  

With only one handcuff attached to her wrist, the girl is seen being pulled in all directions as she screams in terror. 

More people then gather around the two as a woman in a blue tank top grabs the child by her waist and attempts to pull her out of the commotion. 

The officer keeps a tight grip on the minor before they both stumble to the ground and roll over each other on the concrete. 

The girl's mother is seen being pulled away by another officer. The family was allegedly selling fruit from an unlicensed cart when the cops intervened

A woman in a bright blue tank top is seen wrapping her arms around the teenager's waist to try and grab her before the cop tackled the girl to the ground 

The officer then rolls on top of her and tries to get a hold of the minor while more people gather around and tell him to get off of her. 

He continues to put up a fight before the girl manages to break free. 

The officer is then seen on his knees in the middle of the road as other cops surround him. 

The video ends with an officer, in a green uniform, raising his hand in an attempt to cover the camera while the involved cop looks at him and ask: 'Where the f*** is everybody else?' 

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation told DailyMail.com that the incident took place during a 'joint operation with NYPD and PEP officers.' 

'Our Parks Enforcement Patrol’s (PEP) first course of action is to educate in order to bring violators into compliance,' a spokeswoman with the department said. 

'When individuals have repeatedly flouted the law, we take additional enforcement actions, and there are instances when it is necessary to place violators and individuals obstructing the law under arrest.' 

The department added that officers 'confiscated perishable items from unlicensed vendors in the park.'

'While officers were attempting to destroy the items which were unsafe for consumption, two individuals intervened,' the department added. 

The officer, who was not named, had been 'assigned administrative duties' while the incident is investigated, according to the spokeswoman.  

Throughout the now viral video, the young girl was visibly emotional as people tried their best to help her 

The girl eventually broke free from the cop. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is investigating the incident 

Rebillet said that the girl's mother was handcuffed and placed in a police car. He added that he saw park officers attempting to throw the alleged unlicensed fruit cart in a nearby dumpster. 

'Okay, fine, talk to the parents. DONT CUFF THE KID. Embarrassing and dangerous behavior. Shame on Parks, shame on NYPD,' Rebillet said.  

The mother, 32, was issued a desk appearance ticket, or written order to appear in criminal court, while officials wrote up a juvenile report about the incident with the teenager. 

The NYPD told the New York Post that they were there to help assist the parks department officers 'who were getting assaulted by bystanders.' 

According to Storyful, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is currently investigating the incident.