NYPD Detective Junior Sesay was recently cleared of charges stemming from the George Floyd protests back in 2020, which were levied by a Civilian Complaint Review Board. 

The highly-publicized video of the incident saw Sesay inching his vehicle forward amid a throng of protesters who surrounded it. 

The Detective's Side

Sesay, who hails from Sierra Leone, had always maintained that he feared for his life, as well as that of his partner when the vehicle in which he was transporting two prisoners was surrounded and blocked by rioters using metal gates and bicycles.

The story originally made headlines in 2020 due to Sesay's steadfast assertion that he believed he was in the fight of his life.

The Verdict

NYPD Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Trials Paul Gamble ruled that Sesay and his partner, Officer Desean Mullings, were not guilty of abuse of authority and giving false statements regarding the events that occurred during the May 30, 2020 protest near Prospect Park in Brooklyn. 

Gamble's findings were sent to the legal representative of each of the accused officers but Police Commissioner Edward Caban had not signed off on the decision as of yet. 

Caban has the final say in police disciplinary matters. Police union officials have declared victory in the case.

"First, Detective Sesay and his partner were targets of a violent mob - and then targets of the cop-hating CCRB's attempt to ruin a highly respected detective's career," Detectives' Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo said Friday.

"The DEA was proud to represent Detective Sesay to ensure he was exonerated - and now call on the Police Commissioner to endorse the findings of the trial."

The Trial

The departmental trial took place on September 27. 

"I wish you were inside the RMP [radio motor patrol car] when I was behind the wheel!" screamed Sesay, 39, a native of Sierra Leone. "Because of a breakdown of law and order, my grandma was killed after she was thrown into a burning house," he continued, tearing up.

As the police SUV rolled further down Flatbush Ave., protesters broke the SUV's side and rear windows, according to the officers. The video presented at the departmental trial didn't show the windows being shattered.

When the SUV finally stopped around Grand Army Plaza, Mullings recalled sweeping shattered glass off his prisoners, who were huddled in the rear of the vehicle.

"They were in total shock," Mullings said. "The person on my side was visibly shaken and said, 'I thought I would die.'"