Pictured: Tamani Crum’s boyfriend who NYPD were trying to arrest when she was punched

The boyfriend of a woman who was punched off her feet by an NYPD officer in a viral video on Tuesday appeared in court quietly overnight charged with drugs and weapons offenses. 

Elvin James, 22, is the man Tamani Crum was trying to protect when she stood in front of NYPD officers in Harlem  on Tuesday. 

She flung her fists at Detective Kendo Kinsey, slapping at his head and shoulders and in retaliation, Kinsey punched her in the face. 

The shocking interaction was filmed by a bystander and went viral on social media yesterday as another apparent example of police brutality. 

But police unions and NYC Mayor Eric Adams are standing by the detective. 

They say the video proves how brazen criminals have become, and that the young woman should never have tried to interfere. 

She was charged with obstruction and was released from custody last night after her court appearance. She will return to court on October 11. Her boyfriend remains behind bars on a $300,000 cash bond. 

Scroll down for video 

The Detective Endowment’s Association – one of the largest police unions in the country – stood by the detective. 

In a statement last night, Union President Paul DiGiacomo said: ‘Criminals in NY have grown accustomed to there being no consequences for their dangerous, illegal actions – but when you assault a New York City Detective in order to interfere with an arrest of a man armed with a gun there are repercussions.

‘We urge politicians to open their eyes and see the public safety disaster they’ve created.’  

Kinsey was trying to arrest James on suspicion of attempted murder at the time. 

The circumstances of that case remain unclear but it’s believed James was among a group of men involved in a shooting on August 12. 

Crum’s family have cried police brutality and abuse. They say they plan to sue the city, and they are being aided in their crusade by Rev. Al Sharpton. 

Yesterday, he said that Kinsey had ‘brazenly punched’ the woman. 

DiGiacomo, in response on Thursday, said: ‘As for Al Sharpton’s insane comments, he should be worried about the thousands of actual crime victims in this city and not the limelight and lining of his pocket.’ 

Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, the spokeswoman for the National Police Association and a former cop who spent 30 years in law enforcement on the outskirts of Chicago, told DailyMail.com that any outrage should be directed towards Crum and not the officer. 

‘Tamani Crum, a 19-year-old adult, made the decision to insert herself into a very dangerous situation as NYPD detectives and officers attempted to arrest a wanted murder suspect who was armed with a loaded firearm. It’s clear by the video that she was interfering with a lawful arrest. 

‘Det. Kinsey at first tried to deflect her and push her out of the way but she persisted and grabbed at his arm, so he had no choice but to escalate his use of force.

‘Politicians in New York constantly talk about “reducing gun crime” but in cases like this, they do nothing but exacerbate it. 

‘We hope the Detectives Endowment Association follows through with the civil lawsuit that they are considering; law enforcement officers in New York and elsewhere are finding themselves the victims of continual and unnecessary assaults in many cities, often with no consequences for the offenders. 

‘The outrage in this case should be directed at Tamani Crum for trying to stop the arrest of a dangerous gun criminal, at Al Sharpton for threating a lawsuit, and at the decision to charge Det. Kinsey with a crime for simply protecting his community and doing his job.  Enough is enough.’ 

Professor Keith Taylor, who previously served in the NYPD supervising Internal Affairs, told CBS the video showed Kinsey’s actions were ‘awful but lawful’. 

‘She’s actively engaging, which in this case is assaulting the officer. He responds in kind. We need to let the investigators do their job and see all the additional information.’