Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Jeffries Blasts Police Over "Unjustified Arrest" of Public Official

Calls incident at West Indian Day Carnival involving Councilman Jumaane Williams part of NYPD's "siege mentality."

Update, Sept. 6, 5:50 a.m.: More details emerged in regards to Councilman Jumaane Williams' run-in with police at the West Indian Day Carnival yesterday afternoon.

According to the New York Times, Williams was detained for 30 minutes and released without charges after he and an aide to city Public Advocate Bill De Blasio attempted to walk from Grand Army Plaza to an event at the Brooklyn Museum through a police barricade. 

“Jumaane was wearing a council member’s pin, they were trying to explain who they were, but the officers weren’t listening,” De Blasio said in an interview.

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Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, D-Brooklyn, denounced the New York Police Department for the "unjustified arrest" of a fellow Brooklyn elected official on Monday afternoon at the . 

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The Daily News reported that Councilman Jumaane Williams, D-Brooklyn, was arrested after walking down a section of street blocked off by police along the parade route. According to the newspaper, the councilmember and an aide to city Public Advocate Bill De Blasio were taken into custody at 1:30 p.m.

Jeffries, a resident of Prospect Heights with a district office in Fort Greene, called for an investigation into the incident, which occurred near the on Eastern Parkway.

“The unjustified arrest and treatment of Councilman Jumaane Williams is further evidence of the siege mentality the NYPD has unleashed against black men in New York City," Jeffries said. "Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Commissioner Ray Kelly should apologize forthwith and make sure all responsible officers are strongly disciplined."


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