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Police caller must pay harassed BLM protesters $4.5K

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Via: freefaller • 3 years ago • 9 comments

Police caller must pay harassed BLM protesters $4.5K

S E E D E D C O N T E N T

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) — A former ice cream shop owner accused of calling police on peaceful Black Lives Matters protesters was ordered Wednesday to pay them $500 each by a judge for violating their civil rights.

Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against the former owner of Bumpy’s Polar Freeze in Schenectady was the first to rely in part on a new state law targeting false, race-based police reports.

The suit alleged that David Elmendorf wielded a baton and air rifle and shouted racial epithets at protesters who came to his business to protest after racist text messages he allegedly wrote circulated on social media.

Elmendorf also was accused of calling 911 to falsely report that armed protesters were threatening to shoot him, referring to Black protesters as “savages.”

Elmendorf's attorney, James Mermigis, said that the allegations were “categorically false” and that his client's name was being smeared.

The lawsuit accused Elmendorf of violating demonstrators' rights to peacefully protest by threatening and harassing them.

It also cited a civil statute passed last year following the high-profile case against a white woman who called 911 on a Black birdwatcher in New York’s Central Park and falsely claimed he was threatening her.

Under the ruling, Elmendorf must pay $500 each to nine protesters he harassed, for a total of $4,500. He is permanently barred from making future threats against people because of their race and from brandishing a deadly weapon within 1,000 feet of any peaceful protest.

“There is zero tolerance for harassment, intimidation, or violence of any kind against anyone in New York,” James said in a prepared release.

Elmendorf, who is now working in another state, was never properly served so no defense was made in court, Mermigas said.

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Professor Quiet

1 seeder Freefaller 3 years ago

Interesting

Professor Participates

2 Paula Bartholomew 3 years ago

Elmendorf, who is now working in another state

It sounds like he did what most cowards do...ran.

Professor Quiet

2.2 Ronin2 replied to Paula Bartholomew @2 3 years ago

Ran to another state that didn't have BS laws like this one? I can understand that.

“There is zero tolerance for harassment, intimidation, or violence of any kind against anyone in New York,” James said in a prepared release.

Unless of course you are a POS BLM or Antifa not so peaceful protester. Then you can get away with anything you want with impunity.

n late May and early June 2020, looters smashed storefronts in the Bronx and Manhattan boroughs of New York City.
Many were caught on tape, some with their faces visible. Others even posted their own videos of their actions those nights on social media. Hundreds were arrested.

But a review of NYPD data by the investigative team at WNBC, the NBC owned station in New York, shows that a large percentage of the cases — particularly in the Bronx — were dismissed, and that many convictions were for counts like trespassing that carry no jail time.

. . . . According to the data, 118 arrests were made in the Bronx during the worst of the looting in early June.

Since then, the NYPD says the Bronx district attorney and the courts have dismissed most of those cases — 73 in all. Eighteen cases remain open and there have been 19 convictions for mostly lesser counts like trespassing, counts which carry no jail time.

Betancourt, who is also vice president of a local merchants ‘association, called the numbers “disgusting.” She said local business leaders are upset few are being held accountable for the destruction they caused.
. . . . The NYPD data shows there were 485 arrests in Manhattan. Of those cases, 222 were later dropped and 73 resulted in convictions for lesser counts like trespassing, which carries no jail time. Another 40 cases involved juveniles and were sent to family court; 128 cases remain open.

The lack of consequences for lawless looters and rioters—many of whom were released the same day of their arrests, free to return to the streets—is an outrage not only to local business owners but to law enforcement experts.

NBC News continues:

Law enforcement expert and former NYPD Chief of Patrol Wilbur Chapman voiced anger at prosecutors for dropping so many looting and burglary cases.
“If they are so overworked that they can’t handle the mission that they’re hired for, then maybe they should find another line of work,” Chapman said.

The NYPD did set up a task force after the riots to examine videos and photos to separate suspected rioters from peaceful protesters. That work shares similarities with what the FBI is doing in making hundreds of arrests after the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

But unlike federal prosecutors who are moving forward with prosecutions of the Capitol Hill rioters, New York City prosecutors are disposing of most burglary-related cases.

. . . . Former Chief Chapman says while the NYPD did some follow-up, the data shows the district attorneys and the courts have not.

“It allowed people who committed crimes to go scot free,” Chapman said.

Bronx DA Darcell Clark declined repeated requests for an interview, as did Manhattan DA Cy Vance.

In an internal memo, Vance says there were over 600 commercial burglary arrests in addition to over 3,500 unindicted felony cases in the pipeline waiting to move forward in the courts. His memo says all those cases were on hold because of the pandemic.

Before dropping a case, Vance told his prosecutors to review defendants’ criminal histories, whether police could really place the suspect at the scene, and whether the individual caused “any damage to the store.”
Vance told his office, “For many of these commercial burglaries, you will be asked to reduce the initial felony charge to a misdemeanor and to dispose of the case … with an eye towards rehabilitation.”

It’s not clear from this statement whether or not there is sufficient evidence on the felony charges—and if so, on how many of the alleged perpetrators, but it sounds like those on the ground believe “people who committed crimes [are being allowed] to go scot free.”

If the people present during “these commercial burglaries,” were indeed guilty of only trespassing, as allegedly were many of those arrested in conjunction with the events at the Capitol, that’s one thing. If, as seems likely the case since who wanders into a store being looted to snap a few selfies?, the perpetrators are indeed guilty of felonies and hundreds of them are having charges dismissed “with an eye towards rehabilitation,” that is another thing entirely and a standard that must be applied across the board.

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Professor Principal

3 JohnRussell 3 years ago

This is what you call "everyday racism", things like calling the police to make false accusations against blacks, it happens regularly.

But some say racism is in the past. They are hallucinating.

Professor Quiet

4 Ronin2 3 years ago

Elmendorf, who is now working in another state, was never properly served so no defense was made in court, Mermigas said.

Have fun collecting. Charged and convicted in absentia. I am sure that will hold up when crossing state lines.

Professor Principal

4.1 Sparty On replied to Ronin2 @4 3 years ago

No problem, they'll just take it out in trade next time they riot/loot.

A flat screen TV, maybe a couple pairs of kicks and a case or two of Colt-45 ....

Professor Guide

5 Hal A. Lujah 3 years ago

He is permanently barred from making future threats against people because of their race

Aren’t we all supposed to be barred from that anyways? Since when has this ever been a grey area?

Junior Silent

5.1 zuksam replied to Hal A. Lujah @5 3 years ago

I thought the same thing when I read it.

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