The cop who was caught on video seemingly using a chokehold on a man he was trying to detain ... has now been arrested.
According to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz ... 39-year-old officer David Afanador was arrested and charged Thursday for the incident that went down Sunday at Rockaway Beach. He is facing charges of attempted aggravated strangulation and strangulation in the second degree.
As we reported ... Afanador was suspended from the force without pay earlier in the week, after NYPD officers were recorded attempting to detain and arrest a black man, Ricky Bellevue. In the vid, Afanador is seen wrapping his arm around the man's neck. According to the criminal complaint ... Afanador had him in the chokehold for 8 to 12 seconds, and Bellevue did go unconscious.
If convicted, Afanador faces up to 7 years in prison for using the banned chokehold.
The incident occurred less than a week after NYC issued a ban on chokeholds for police.