Cops accused of sexual misconduct
BLM protester accuses NYPD of sexual assault during Brooklyn Bridge march
BY DEAN MOSES
A Black Lives Matter protester
says she was the victim
of sexual misconduct and assault
at the hands of the NYPD
during a recent demonstration
on the Brooklyn Bridge.
At a press conference May
6, Maila Beach and her lawyer,
Manhattan district attorney
candidate Tahanie
Aboushi, told reporters that
April 24 started out as a night
like many others.
Beach and fellow demonstrators
were preparing to
walk across the Brooklyn
Bridge as part of a continued
call for justice for Black and
brown victims of police violence.
When the group began
their march, Beach told reporters
Thursday, the NYPD
created a blockade with their
bikes, forcing protesters to
retreat. Eventually, offi cers
weaponized their victims
and tackled protesters to the
ground, at which point Beach
claims she was sexually assaulted.
“I could feel the front of my
COURIER L 14 IFE, MAY 14-20, 2021
shirt being pulled up. At fi rst,
I was stunned and thought
it was okay, that they didn’t
mean to. I shouted: ‘you are
taking off my shirt,’” Beach
said. “Then I felt it being
pulled past my chest and realized
they are puling off my
shirt. I started panicking and
screaming as loud as I could
that they were taking off my
shirt. I started to try and pull
down my shirt, but I was met
with yells of ‘stop resisting.’”
Beach said she pleaded
with offi cers, attempting to
explain that she was merely
struggling to remain clothed.
She said she wound up being
struck in the back of her skull
and zip-tied before having her
shirt hoisted over her head
and then lifted to her feet.
With her pants falling
down, she claimed, offi cers actually
grabbed her slacks and
yanked them down to her ankles,
where she was then paraded
to a nearby van.
“Then they made me stand
there and wait naked for about
10 minutes,” Beach recalled
through a stream of tears.
Beach and Aboushi said
they will seek legal action
against the NYPD.
In response to the allegations,
police sources said they
will review the lawsuit if and
when they are served. But in
the meantime, the department
is claiming the incident didn’t
happen the way Beach and
witnesses assert.
“A preliminary review of
the incident indicates that offi
cers made every effort to ensure
the individual remained
clothed during the arrest, including
asking for the assistance
of a female offi cer in
the process,” the NYPD said
in a statement. “This person
was arrested and later issued
a summons as part of a group
of people who had announced
they were going to block the
Brooklyn Bridge for an hour
while thousands of people
were stuck in residual traffi c
due to the roadblocks and detours
resulting from the DMX
memorial service. A series of
announcements were given before
any arrests were made of
persons who refused to comply
with the instructions to leave
the Brooklyn Bridge roadway.
The individual arrested in
this incident was released after
receiving a summons for
blocking the roadway.”
Maila Beach speaks through tears as she alleges she was sexually assaulted
by members of the NYPD at a Black Lives Matter protest.
Photo by Dean Moses
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