The following is via the NY Times:

The Police Department and the Brooklyn district attorney’s office have begun separate investigations into allegations of police brutality after reviewing video that shows two officers repeatedly striking a young man inside a Jewish community center in Brooklyn, officials said.

Paul J. Browne, the department’s chief spokesman, said Internal Affairs Bureau investigators also referred the case to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent agency that investigates allegations of abuse of authority by the police. One of the officers, Luis A. Vega, has been placed on modified duty, he said.

The video, posted online on Sunday night by CrownHeights.info, shows Officer Vega punching the head and body of Ehud Halevy, 21, and another officer from the 71st Precinct, Yelena Bruzzese, battering Mr. Halevy with a baton for more than two minutes last week as he tries to fend off the blows.

According to a criminal complaint, the officers said Mr. Halevy had attacked them, causing one to suffer a sprained wrist, during an encounter on Oct. 8 in the Alternative Learning Institute for Young Adults on East New York Avenue in Crown Heights. Mr. Halevy was charged with a felony count of assault on police officers.

But the seven-minute video seems to contradict the officers’ account: It does not show Mr. Halevy striking either officer, though he does pull away from Officer Vega, using an arm to push off the officer and break free. The video was taken by a surveillance camera in the center’s lounge.

Rabbi Moishe Feiglin, a director at the youth outreach center, said he was disturbed by the video and the way the officers had treated Mr. Halevy. The rabbi said Mr. Halevy participated in the center’s program of educational, spiritual and counseling services for youths who are considered “at risk” in Crown Heights.

“It was very painful to see one of our members being treated like that,” Rabbi Feiglin said. “It seemed like a senseless beating and we felt compassion for this young guy being beaten like that. We all need to have more compassion.”

According to the criminal complaint, Officers Vega and Bruzzese responded to a 911 call of a dispute inside the outreach center about 5 a.m. The call was made by Trappler Zalman, a center volunteer, who performs security checks in the building. Mr. Zalman told the officers that he found Mr. Halevy “sleeping naked” on a couch inside the lounge. Mr. Zalman ordered him to get dressed and leave, telling him he did not have permission to be there. Mr. Halevy refused and argued that he had a right to be there, the complaint states.

In fact, Rabbi Feiglin said in a telephone interview on Monday, Mr. Halevy had permission to stay overnight at the center. He needed “a place to crash for a short period,” the rabbi said. Rabbi Feiglin added that it was unclear what had prompted Mr. Zalman to call the police, since Mr. Halevy had been sleeping in the lounge for about a month.

“We don’t know exactly why he called the police,” Rabbi Feiglin said, noting that the video does not include audio.

READ MORE: NY TIMES