The NYPD is under
fire after an 84-year-old man was injured while being arrested by officers
after being stopped for jaywalking.
Kang Wong, a
Chinese immigrant who speaks little English, was walking in the Upper West Side
Sunday when he was approached by a cop attempting to write him a ticket for a
jaywalking citation.
“[The officer]
stood him up against the wall and was trying to write him a ticket,"
witness Ian King told The New York Post. "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.”
After the
altercation, Wong was taken to St. Luke's Hospital where he received four
staples in the head. He has reportedly been charged with disorderly conduct and
resisting arrest.
Mayor Bill de
Blasio declined to comment specifically on the incident, but he defended the
NYPD's focus on jaywalking as a part of a larger initiative to reduce traffic
fatalities and promote pedestrian safety in New York City.
“There is no
larger policy in terms of jaywalking and ticketing and jaywalking," de
Blasio said Monday. "That’s not part of our plan. But it is something a local
precinct commander can act on, if they perceive there to be a real
danger."
Last week, de
Blasio announced a plan with Police Commissioner Bill Bratton to reduce traffic
deaths to "literally" zero through increased pedestrian education and
reducing speed limits.
Within two days of
his announcement, four people were killed in traffic throughout the city.
As Gothamist noted
today, while further education on pedestrian safety can help reduce fatalities,
it's hard to see how aggressive ticketing for those caught jaywalking can be
effective.
Speeding is the
most common cause of fatal crashes. Drivers failing to yield is a top reason
why pedestrians are injured. In most cases, the operators of the high-velocity
heavy machinery are responsible for the disorder. Pedestrians are more often
hit with the light on their side than without. Ticketing pedestrians for
jaywalking will not deter the operators of heavy machinery from behaving
dangerously.
Following Wong's
hospitalization, Bratton said the brutal arrest was due to "an unfortunate
circumstance" and insisted no excessive force was exercised by officers.
Wong's son is said
to be looking into legal action.
