Ex-Cop Gets Jail Time For Shooting Gun Into Ocean: NYC Prosecutors

NEW YORK CITY — A former NYPD cop known for a high-profile chokehold case will go to prison for shooting a gun into the ocean while drinking in Long Island, prosecutors said.

A judge handed David Afanador, 41, of Long Beach, a 16-month to 4-year sentence during a Thursday hearing.

Afanador had pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a firearm after prosecutors said Long Beach police caught him holding an open can of spiked seltzer with a 9mm Beretta pistol in his holster, along with two loaded magazines in March 2021.

“This defendant knew he could not legally possess a firearm, but still made the decision to drink with friends on a beach and recklessly fire a loaded gun several times into the ocean,” said Anne Donnelly, who is Nassau County's district attorney, in a statement.

“Afanador’s behavior was foolish, dangerous, and illegal."

The gun incident unfolded as Afanador faced a strangulation charge on accusations he used an illegal chokehold on a mentally ill Black man along the Rockaway Beach boardwalk.

The arrest was captured in a video that went viral as New York City and the nation were embroiled in mass protests over police brutality and racism after the murder of George Floyd.

"Stop choking him, bro!" a bystander shouted as Afanador appeared to hold Bellevue's neck for several seconds. "He's choking him. Let him go!"

Just one week before the arrest, City Council members passed a bill criminalizing chokeholds that jumped off a state ban on the practice.

Afanador, who was suspended from the force, still had criminal proceedings looming over him when Long Island authorities said he drank with friends and shot a gun several times into the ocean near Franklin Boulevard and Ocean Beach Park on March 21, 2021.

"When the defendant was asked to produce identification, Afanador handed officers a NYPD Officer Identification card and a driver’s license," a Nassau County DA's release states. "Afanador’s NYPD ID card was clearly marked 'No Firearms.'"

Cops found seven spent shell casings from the sand near Afanador, prosecutors said.

A Queens grand jury in September 2021 ultimately declined to indict Afanador in the chokehold case, but the gun case moved forward.

Afanador pleaded guilty in March this year to felony criminal possession of a firearm.