Brianna Villafane was in Lower Manhattan protesting police violence in the summer of 2020, when officers charged into the crowd. One of them gripped her hair and yanked her to the ground. “I felt someone on top of me and it was hard to breathe,” she said. Ms. Villafane received a letter from the oversight agency about its conclusions. The next step would be a disciplinary trial overseen by the New York Police Department, during which prosecutors from the oversight agency would present evidence and question the officer in a public forum.

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Persons: Brianna Villafane, “, Villafane, ” Organizations: New York, New York Police Department Locations: Lower Manhattan, New York City