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West Indian Day Parade

September 6, 2011 by · Comments Off on West Indian Day Parade 

West Indian Day ParadeWest Indian Day Parade, Flatbush Jumaane Councillor Williams was arrested during a heated confrontation with police in the Parade of the West Indies on Monday afternoon – and the incident prompted immediate charges that the police overreacted by the color of Williams .

The black councilman, a Democrat, and Kirsten John Foy, director of the Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio of community affairs, were walking down an empty, cordoned off the sidewalk as they went to lunch at the Brooklyn Museum 1:30 pm, when several officers arrested the pair and demanded to know why they were in a “frozen zone.”

The police may have been an advantage for unrelated shooting about an hour before above the parade route.

Stefan Ringle, a spokesman for Williams who witnessed the arrest, said a senior police official had given permission and Councilman John Foy barricade passing through the area earlier in the day. But when the couple approached a police checkpoint, three troopers began questioning Williams and John Foy – even though the rookie legislator tried to show the ID card that all council members receive.

“He told me it was, but the police were not listening, and started talking to him in higher tones,” Ringel said the Daily News. “The speech is a bit disrespectful.”

But the police say has it all wrong Ringel: Officers detained only Williams and John Foy for their own safety.

Under this interpretation of history, the NYPD said that while officers were questioning Williams and John Foy, near several men got into a fight with the police, a captain of a police beating in New York.

As the fighting intensified, the officers handcuffed Williams and John Foy, and led them out of danger, a police spokesman said.

“To separate them from the crowd, [Williams and John Foy] occurred in the street and detained until their identities have been established,” said police spokesman in New York, but declined to provide any information about the fight that led to this decision.

Ringel said police never approached Williams, but John Foy was knocked to the ground before being taken across the street.

Neither has been charged and both were released within 30 minutes. And later, they received a personal apology from Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who pledged to initiate an investigation, a spokesman for the NYPD said.

Williams said very little about the arrest on Monday, calling it “an avoidable incident involving a select number of police officers.” He undertook to provide further details at a news conference for today at 10:30 am at City Hall.

The police were on high alert Monday afternoon after a man fired a gun at the start of the parade, near the corner of Eastern Parkway and Schenectady Avenue at noon. The gunman was arrested after a brief chase, police said.

However, some believe that the police arrested Williams and John Foy without cause.

Hakeem Jeffries Assemblyman (D-Fort Greene) called the incident an “unjustified detention”.

“Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly must ensure that all officials are very disciplined,” said Jefferies.

DeBlasio agreed, saying that he wants the officers involved for investigation of police misconduct.

“I am very concerned that this situation escalated agents without, and two servants were trying to show identification,” he said.

Williams, who is currently president of the Council’s oversight and investigation committee, wanted to attend the annual parade, Twitter on Monday morning, “To all my West Indian family:” Mash Up di Parkway! ”

His is also a strong opponent of the shutdown of the NYPD, the question and frisk procedures, which he wrongly target minorities.

“[Stop-and-frisk] was racial discrimination and does nothing to reduce crime,” he said.

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