Photo by Dean Moses
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Bayside’s Black Lives Matter
protesters gathered outside
of the 111th Precinct on Sunday,
July 26, calling for answers following
incidents that took place
when pro-police rally and BLM
groups faced off at Crocheron
Park two weeks ago, including
one in which a woman with the
BLM group was slapped in the
face by an unidentified man
wearing an “NYPD” shirt.
Kristen McManu, 37, was
that woman. She attended Sunday’s
protest at the 111th Precinct,
located at 45-06 215th St.,
and said she hasn’t heard from
the police more than a week after
she filed a report about the
assault.
“Through the community
board in Bayside, I was told that
what happened to me is not an
arrestable offense. The captain
told the community board that
and that they would not be pursuing
anything,” she said. “The
captain had said he would meet
with me over a week ago and I
have yet to hear back. They’ve
done nothing and they’re continuing
to do nothing.”
McManus, a Bayside resident,
said the last thing she
heard from the 111th Precinct
was that “nobody was assigned”
to her case.
Following the incidents at
Crocheron Park, QNS sent the
NYPD various emails and made
several phone calls with questions
regarding what happened.
QNS has followed up for a week,
but each time, an NYPD spokesperson
has said “there are no
updates” about McManus’ case,
and can’t confirm whether what
happened to her is or isn’t an arrestable
offense.
Protesters were met with
barricades along the vicinity of
the 111th Precinct on Sunday,
with 215th Street closed off to
traffic. Throughout the almost
three hours of protesting, there
were about 30 BLM demonstrators
and 20 police officers standing
by the precinct.
The BLM group was joined
by some members of the Warriors
in the Garden — a collective
of activists dedicated to
non-violent protest throughout
New York City — who were also
at the tumultuous protest in
Crocheron Park on July 12.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.2 COM | JULY 31-AUG. 6, 2020
Video from that day shows
that one of their members, 21-
year-old Yacine Diallo, was
beaten by several officers, including
one wearing a white
shirt, and later arrested. He told
QNS he didn’t even see it coming
and he was later charged
with “inciting a riot,” among
other charges.
“Last time I was here at this
police precinct, we were waiting
for one of our group members
to get out, because he got
charged with inciting a riot,”
said a member of Warriors in
the Garden. “When she was hit
in the face, there’s literally a
picture of this right here … It’s
crazy to me that y’all have done
nothing about this.”
At the small protest, there
were teens, adults and even
some kids — one of whom took
to the bullhorn to ask, “Why
aren’t you protecting people?”
While some cars and buses
honked in support of the protest,
there were a number of
shouts opposing it. One man in
an SUV stopped in the middle
of the road to yell profanities at
the protesters — “you’re all just
a bunch of misfits,” he yelled
— and ran a red light. Protesters
pointed out to the onlooking
police officers that he ran a red
light, but they didn’t react.
Yulia Pechenkina, 19, who
grew up in Bayside and recently
moved to Long Island, said she
wanted to support the protest
at the 111th Precinct after seeing
the videos of McManus as
well as another protester with
Warriors in the Garden who got
called a derogatory word by a
teacher in front of the precinct
as they waited for Diallo two
weeks ago.
“I always thought there were
racists on Long Island, but not
in Bayside,” said Pechenkina,
as she held a sign with a picture
of the man slapping McManus
that read, “Is it okay to assault
another human being if I’m
wearing an NYPD shirt? Asking
for a ‘friend.'”
While the 111th Precinct has
not answered questions regarding
the incidents that took place
two Sundays ago, a few days following
the events they posted a
pixelated photo of a protester on
Facebook, stating the suspect
allegedly removed “a victim’s
cellphone” that same day.
A similar altercation took
place on July 12 in Bay Ridge,
Brooklyn, where pro-police and
Black Lives Matter protesters
also faced off and resulted in
a series of violent moments including
one in which a man with
the pro-police group punched a
woman with the BLM group. According
to Gothamist, the man
was not arrested even though
police saw what happened.
When asked about the reported
incidents in Bayside,
Queens City Councilman Donovan
Richards, chair of Committee
on Public Safety and the lead
candidate for Queens borough
president, told QNS he’s calling
for the NYPD to “find and
charge” the unidentified man.
“We cannot have a ‘look
the other way’ attitude when it
comes to protecting our public.
Whether someone is pro-police
or not, they should face the consequences
of their actions. I am
calling for the NYPD to find and
charge the man who insulted
Kristen McManus,” Richards
said. “From what we’ve been
told, body cam footage was not
recorded during the altercation.
That is a huge red flag.”
‘THEY’VE
DONE
NOTHING’
Protesters demand answers from NYPD following incidents at Bayside protests
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