The New York Post is reporting that an 84 year old man was left bloodied and dazed after a run in with NYPD over jaywalking at an Upper West Side intersection.
Jaywalkers in the area are being targeted by police after the third pedestrian fatality this month around West 96th Street. The incident unfolded in front of several news reporters, who were at the intersection documenting the accident that killed pedestrian Samantha Lee only 12 hours prior.
At around 5 PM Sunday, Kang Wong was walking north on Broadway and crossing 96th Street, when an officer directed him to stop because he had walked against the light.
Witnesses say that Wong didn’t seem to understand or speak English.
Witness Ian King, a law student at Fordham University, said:
“The guy didn’t seem to speak English. The cop walked him over to the Citibank. [The officer] stood him up against the wall and was trying to write him a ticket. The man didn’t seem to understand, and he started walking away. The cop tried to pull him back, and that’s when he began to struggle with the cop. As soon as he pushed the cop, it was like cops started running in from everywhere.”
Wong was then cuffed and taken to St. Luke’s Hospital. Several hours later he was taken to the 24th Precinct station house.
Wong’s 41 year old son, who is a lawyer, received a phone call from NYPD around 6 PM, informing him that his father had been arrested and asking if the elderly man needed medication. They would not say which hospital Wong had been taken too. The son then went to the station house for answers, but was given a similar run-around.
He eventually found out on his own accord that his father had been arrested for jaywalking and was at St. Luke’s.
“Oh, great! Beating up on an 84-year-old man for jaywalking,’’ he said.
Once at the hospital, the issues continued. Neither the police nor the hospital let him see his father until after 10 PM, stating that because he wasn’t admitted, he was not a patient, but a “prisoner” in police custody.
Early Monday morning, Wong was fingerprinted and charged with jaywalking, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and obstructing governmental administration. He left the station house with several family members and a desk-appearance ticket.
Another of Wong’s sons, who did not wish to give his name, said the family will likely press charges against the cops, saying:
“He was just walking across the street with other people, and they picked him out. How could they do that to an 84-year-old man.’’
NYPD officials have declined to comment, stating “the incident is under internal review.”
April Dawn (@scarlettsinatra)
