While protests usually aim to be peaceful, things can quickly, and often do, escalate. A protest this Wednesday proved this once again.
The idea to build a men’s shelter in a Bensonhurst neighborhood has been met with multiple protests by residents for a while now, mostly regarding concerns about a crime increase.
During a protest this Wednesday against the shelter, Councilwoman Susan Zhuang, 38, was arrested after she was accused of biting an NYPD chief, ABC7 News says.
According to ABC7 News, the Councilwoman was “seen in photos and video pushing up against a police barricade, and then…opening up her mouth to bite an officer – Chief of Patrol Frank DiGiacomo – and drawing blood”.
Zhuang’s charges include second and third-degree assault, obstruction of governmental administration, unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct, second-degree harassment, and resisting arrest. Arraigned in court on Wednesday, she was released on her bond.
Yesterday, she met supporters outside a community center in Gravesend. There, she told the crowd she believed she didn’t deserve to be arrested.
Accusing the NYPD of being the reason the protest turned violent, Zhuang went on to state that “Mistreatment by our NYPD…must be stopped, AAPI hate and Asian hate in any form must end…I was approached from behind, two police officers handcuffed me, one police officer pulled my hair, another officer grabbed my neck…the issue is not unique…many members in Asian community have been subject to this excessive enforcement and mistreatment”.
ABC7 News has also shared a witness statement about how the Councilwoman was trying to prevent an 81-year-old woman from being injured.
Despite Zhuang’s claims that she was in the right, fellow Council members are not supporting her.
ABC7 News quotes City Council Speaker Adrien Adams, saying, “Violence is completely unacceptable…respect for our city workers doing their jobs is it’s just not negotiable”.
These situations are always difficult because it’s a “he said, she said” situation but with multiple protestors, government workers, and police officers. Regardless of the situation, Miss. Adams is right: violence towards police is not acceptable.
The investigation is ongoing and the city council is waiting for more information before determining any disciplinary actions toward Zhuang.
