Fuck Tha Politsey
Brooklyn residents rioted after a member of the community was harassed by cops:
An angry protest over the arrest of an elderly Hasidic man turned violent in Brooklyn last night, when throngs of irate residents lit fires on the street, clashed with cops and smashed the windows of a squad car.
At one point, more than 1,000 people flooded onto 16th Avenue between 45th and 48th streets in Borough Park, many pushing and shoving police.
Cops in riot gear struggled to hold back the mob as a firetruck shot water into the air to douse the many small trash fires.
The violence began at 6:30 p.m., when witnesses said neighborhood fixture Arthur Schick was leaving the bakery he used to own, Schick’s, on 16th Avenue.
Schick, 75, was talking on his cellphone as he got into his car and started driving away, prompting officers to stop him, the witnesses said.
A cop asked for his license, but Schick, who’s hard of hearing, couldn’t understand and got out of the car, the witnesses said.
“He jumped out and before anything, they pushed him back into the car. They put him in handcuffs,” said Leonard Rosenberg.
When Schick protested, two officers began using force, Rosenberg said.
. . .
As word of the arrest spread, hundreds of residents began lighting fires and blocking traffic. Some smashed the window of two squad cars and threw burning debris on them.
Things quieted down by 9:30 p.m. Two officers had minor injuries, cops said.
(You, too, can fake like you know a smattering of Yiddish.)
Posted: April 5th, 2006 | Filed under: Brooklyn, Law & Order