Sunset Park residents came out to a town hall meeting Wednesday to vent their frustrations with the New York City Police Department. NY1′s Jeanine Ramirez filed the following report.
A series of videos was played at a town hall meeting with residents and police Wednesday night showing what many residents call a pattern of police brutality in Sunset Park.
“These are cases that have been documented, but if you go out to this neighborhood and really have conversations with the neighborhood, there are a bunch of cases that haven’t been documented, and you can view the pattern,” said Jason DelAguila of El Grito de Sunset Park.
There’s video from September taken after a neighborhood festival. When police tried to reopen the street, they ended up arresting five people. The footage shows an officer kicking someone. That officer was suspended, and the Department of Internal Affairs is investigating.
Then, there’s one taken less than two weeks ago. It appears that a police officer threw a pregnant woman to the ground and shoved another woman into the middle of the street.
Residents and elected leaders told police who sat through the three-hour meeting it was a systemic problem in the 72nd Precinct and beyond.
“You are on notice,” said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. “The police commissioner is on notice, and the mayor of New York, who got elected by this community, also is on notice.”
Chief of Department Philip Banks, the highest-ranking member of the New York City Police Department who attended the meeting, got booed as he defended the department.
“I believe that the overwhelming majority of the police officers, they do it right, and they do it right every single time,” Banks said. The comment was met with boos.
Banks said he got the message.
“I heard the temperature. I felt it. I understand what the concerns are,” he said. “And we’re looking to see what changes need to be made.”
Residents said it’s long overdue.
“This is many, many years of a community that has seen, unfortunately, a neglect. It’s not just abuse. I think it’s about neglect, and we need to turn a new leaf,” said Maria Roca of Friends of Sunset Park.
The police said they’re committed to improving the relationship with the community and that this dialogue will continue.
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