Marchers called for accountability after a viral arrest sparked outrage on social media.
PROTEST
Continued from page 1
Center in Brownsville. “The
brother had his hands up.”
Police claim that Gayle
had been smoking marijuana
inside 100% Playground on
Glenwood Road and had resisted
arrest — but his defense
attorney contends that
his client had not committed
any crimes, and will plead not
guilty to charges at a March
24 court appearance.
“We will be appearing
on March 24, answering the
charges and pleading not
guilty and requesting the
charges to be dismissed in
the interest of justice,” said
Sanford Rubenstein. “And
we are going to convince the
district attorney’s offi ce that
they should not prosecute.”
During Saturday’s march
from the playground to the
69th Police Precinct, which
came on the heels of a similar
demonstration last Thursday,
rally-goers called on the
NYPD to fi re the offi cers involved
in Gayle’s arrest, and
for the Kings County District
Attorney to launch a full investigation
into the incident.
Reciting chants of “No Justice,
No Peace” and “Hands
Up, Don’t Shoot,” protestors
marched down a half-mile
stretch of Rockaway Parkway
from 100% Playground
on Glenwood Road to the 69th
Precinct on E. 98th Street to
demarcate where Gayle was
fi rst arrested and where he
was held in custody for about
12 hours.
McCall said Gayle was
only released from the 69th
Precinct after the community
leader went to the department
himself and demanded Gayle’s
release. He was then taken out
of custody within the hour.
Police Commissioner Dermot
Shea addressed Gayle’s
arrest at a press conference
last Thursday, where he said
some aspects of the video
were disturbing and that the
department would conduct a
full investigation.
“The short answer is I am
going to look for an investigation
everything that happened
here,” said Shea.
FIRED
Continued from page 1
her whole staff to complete sensitivity
“As a daughter of Haitian immigrants,
I was in grade school
when the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration barred Haitian
Americans from donating
blood, blaming my community
for HIV/AIDS,” Frontus said in
a March 4 statement. “Viruses
do not distinguish among races
and cultures, and I will fi ght
just as hard against misinformation
and racism targeting
The anti-Chinese vitriol
didn’t stop with Franks — one
day after the Assembly staffer’s
message began to circulate, a
member of southern Brooklyn’s
Community Board 13 jumped
to Frontus’ defense with another
“Ms Frontus should not have
to apologize, but as a stateswoman
she did,” wrote Ronald
X Stewart, a longtime Coney
Island resident and anti-gun
activist, who was appointed to
the community board by Borough
President Eric Adams.
“These Chinese restaurants in
our community make millions
of dollars off us. They don’t
hire us; don’t donate to any of
our events and express racism
against us … but we allow them
to get by and say nothing,” he
said.
The hateful comment,
made under a Facebook post
on March 3, prompted calls for
Stewart’s resignation, which
Adams granted on March 4.
“I condemn in the strongest
possible terms the comments
made this week by a community
board member,” he wrote.
“Therefore, his last day serving
on the board will be March 31,
2020.”
Frontus, a friend of Stewart’s,
honored him with a stateissued
proclamation at a Black
History Month celebration at
the Carey Gardens Community
Center last month, the Brooklyn
Eagle reported.
Following the remarks,
Frontus announced her plans
to host a public forum on Friday
with Chinese-American
leaders to condemn anti-Asian
bigotry.
“Bigotry and fear based on
misinformation can take hold
in communities that do not talk
to each other,” she said. “In the
midst of a public health crisis,
in the heart of the most international
city in America, we
cannot afford panic and prejudice.”
Ronald X. Stewart did not
respond to a request for comment.
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