FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Queens grand jury declines to indict NYPD cop for using illegal chokehold
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A Queens grand jury has cleared a
former NYPD offi cer for using an illegal
chokehold on a suspect in Rockaway
Beach in June 2020.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz
announced Tuesday, Sept. 14, that the
grand jury considering charges against
former Police Offi cer David Afanador
“has found no true bill and declined to
indict.”
Afanador had faced charges of strangulation
and attempted strangulation for an
incident that occurred on the Rockaway
boardwalk just before 9 a.m. on Sunday,
June 21, during the arrest of Ricky Bellevue,
a 35-year-old Black man. Th e incident
began when three men began to get into a
verbal altercation with at least four police
offi cers, NYPD body cam footage showed.
At one point during the dispute, Bellevue
appeared to reach inside of a trash can, at
which point several offi cers tackled him to
the ground, the video showed.
While being cuff ed, Afanador appeared
to wrap his arm around Bellevue’s neck
in an alleged chokehold. “He’s choking
him,” someone could be heard yelling off -
camera.
Bellevue was seen going limp as he lost
consciousness under Afanador’s maneuver,
the DA said. Afanador eventually
pulled his arm from around Bellevue’s
neck aft er another offi cer tapped him on
his shoulder.
Th e entire episode was caught on camera
by a passerby and shared widely
online. Aft er the video went viral, the
NYPD released an offi cer’s body cam
footage of the incident and suspended
Afanador without pay by nightfall the
same day.
Afanador turned himself in at the
Queens district attorney’s offi ce in Kew
Gardens and was arraigned before Queens
Criminal Court Judge Danielle Hartman
on Th ursday, June 25.
Afanador became the fi rst NYPD offi cer
to be charged under New York State’s Eric
Garner Anti-Chokehold Act, legislation
sponsored by now-Lieutenant Governor
Brian Benjamin, and signed into law by
Governor Andrew Cuomo just one week
earlier.
Th e new law made the use of a chokehold
by a police offi cer a felony, and
Afanador — who has since resigned from
the NYPD — faced up to seven years in
jail under the law.
Afanador testifi ed before the Queens
grand jury behind closed doors, but in
a statement, Katz said she would seek to
have a transcript of the testimony released
to the public.
“While the law prohibits me from discussing
the proceedings that took place
in front of the grand jury, in the interest
of transparency I am moving to have
the minutes of the grand jury unsealed,”
Katz said.
Free COVID-19 antibody testing event coming to Woodhaven
BY KAYLA WONG
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
With COVID-19 still a threat, state
Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. is once
again partnering with Valhalla Medics to
bring a free testing event to Woodhaven
later this month.
Th is event comes aft er two successful
COVID-19 antibody testing events near
the Rockaways earlier in the year.
Th e event will take place on Friday,
Sept. 24, outside of the Woodhaven
Business Improvement District’s (BID)
offi ce, located at 89-07 Jamaica Ave., from
noon to 2 p.m.
“Th ese events have become incredibly
popular since I started partnering with
Valhalla Medics to bring the free testing
to the communities,” Addabbo said.
“We had over 100 people come out to test
their COVID antibodies back in July. It’s
important to get the antibody testing done
so you can make sure that your COVID
vaccine is providing your body with the
protection it needs to fi ght off the virus
or that an individual has the antibodies to
further protect themselves from the pandemic.”
Th e vaccination rates vary across
Queens, ranging from about 46.5 percent
in Far Rockaway to more than 99 percent
in Jamaica.
Th e test that will be administered is a
rapid IgG/IgM antibody test, which is just
a painless fi nger prick to draw a small
bead of blood used for processing. Aft er
about a 10-minute wait, patients are given
a form with a write-up of their results
signed by the technician who performed
the test. Th ese IgG/IgM tests can detect
and diff erentiate between the presence of
the short-term (IgM) and the long-term
(IgG) antibodies.
A positive IgM test can indicate you
have recently been vaccinated and your
immune system has started responding to
the vaccination, while a positive IgG test
may mean you have long-term antibodies
to help prevent re-infection.
It is important to get an antibody test,
even aft er being vaccinated, for a number
of reasons: It can show antibodies from
the COVID-19 vaccine; it can show antibodies
to determine if you had the virus
in the past; or it can show a current infection
of COVID-19. Data has shown that
even if an individual is vaccinated, there
is a small chance that they can still contract
COVID-19 and spread it to others.
No insurance is necessary to take part in
the testing event. Walk-ups are welcomed,
but it is recommended to register by calling
Addabbo’s offi ce at 718-738-1111 to
secure a spot.
If community members need another
incentive, Valhalla Medics will be providing
free giveaways for all those who come
to get the free antibody test.
“I would like to thank Valhalla Medics
and their team for their continued partnership
on these community events,”
Addabbo added. “And I want to give a big
thanks to the Woodhaven BID for joining
with us. I hope to see many people
come out to the Woodhaven BID to get
tested as well.”
Photo via Getty Images
Screenshot via NYPD/YouTube
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