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Enraged NYPD Traffic Agent Accused of Racist Assault
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 21, 2009
Modified Oct 21, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 21, 2009
Modified Oct 21, 2009
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This Chinatown surveillance video depicts a heated altercation between an NYPD traffic agent and a car owner on Lafayette Street around 3:15 p.m. on October 8th. The video appears to show irate traffic agent Twana Chapman striking driver Qiang Nian Zhu after he tried to cover his registration sticker, so Chapman could not scan it. A crowd gathers, and Chapman is seen getting in one bystander's face, as another traffic agent pulls her away. But because there is no audio, it's not possible to verify an allegation that Chapman also made racist remarks.
Witnesses tell Fox that besides striking Zhu in the face with her scanner, Chapman angrily cursed at the bystanders. According to one account, she shouted, "You f------ Chinese, go back where you came from. All of you f------ Chinese!"
Zhu says it all started when he saw Chapman poised to ticket his car, and he told her he still had one minute left on his NYC parking receipt, displayed on his car's dashboard. He also told Chapman his wife was buying another ticket at the Munimeter down the block. After she struck him, he says he put his hands in his pockets so he could not be accused of assaulting her.
Nevertheless, he was arrested when the traffic agents called cops the scene, and is charged with obstruction of governmental administration and harassment. But maybe it was all worth it, because in the end he never got the parking ticket! The NYPD insists no one filed a complaint about racial epithets.
Tagged
assault
attack
Chinatown
chinese
fox
nyc
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racist
traffic agent
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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