New York cop kneels on a suspected criminal's neck until he passes out

Footage surfaced on social media Monday of an unnamed officer kneeling on the neck of Yugeshwar Gaindarpersaud, 31, during an arrest in Schenectady, New York, that morning.

Gaindarpersaud said he lost consciousness and later woke up in hospital - and claimed 'five minutes more... I would've been gone'.

Around 100 protesters gathered outside the Schenectady Police Department Monday evening to call for the officer to be fired.

In the 22-second video shot by Gaindarpersaud's father Jaindra Gaindarpersaud, the cop is seen pinning the man to the floor with his knee on his neck.

The victim's father is heard begging him to stop and asking: 'What has he done to you?'

He then cries: 'You got the foot on his head. You've got the foot on his head.'

The cop looks up at him and shouts at him to 'go back inside now' and to 'back up.'

Gaindarpersaud, who said he was charged with resisting arrest, said the violent altercation started when officers confronted him outside his home over reports his neighbor's tires had been slashed.