Mayor Adams Defends NYPD Actions in Controversial Migrant Scuffle

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In an incident captured on camera, cops in a New York City migrant shelter struck a Venezuelan immigrant carrying his kid with a stun gun and punched him in the face. The mayor justified the actions as "appropriate." Officers had given the man multiple commands and warnings to release the child and give him to someone else, but the man refused.

The video, obtained and published by The New York Times on Tuesday, captured two officers confronting Yanny Cordero, 47, at a city-run shelter in Jamaica, Queens this past Friday.

A man filming the altercation could be heard yelling in Spanish: “This is abuse!" He could also be heard shouting, “Hey they’re hitting him! Hey don’t hit him, don’t hit him, don’t hit him, brother. That’s abuse. Where are the human rights?”

The NYPD were responding to a call that there was an intoxicated man at the migrant shelter "who was threatening staff members." Cordero denies being intoxicated, stating he had gotten into an argument with a shelter employee who said he could not bring food into his room. He claims the shelter employee struck him in the face.

Cordero was charged with disorderly conduct and violent behavior, resisting arrest, obstructing government administration, and acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17. Police stated the child was unharmed and the Administration for Children's Services was informed and responded.

Andrea Parrar, 22, Cordero's wife, thrust herself between the officers and her husband and was subsequently charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and fighting, and obstructing government administration.

Mayor Adams, a former police officer stated, “I saw that incident and I spoke with the commissioner over the weekend. Those officers had to get that child from him so that child was not going to be in danger. All of this is on a body-worn camera. Those officers responded to a person who was dangerous and took appropriate actions."

The mayor continued, "Domestic incidents are extremely dangerous. These are very volatile situations. Those officers have to respond accordingly. They wanted to get that child out of that gentleman’s hand after warning him several times asking him to turn over the child, he refused to. He was violent, he was volatile, they had to take that necessary action, and based on our review, those officers took appropriate action."

On Monday, the family was reunited with their children. The mayor's office told NBC News that the family requested to be moved from that shelter. They were given a new shelter placement in Brooklyn.