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NYPD: Jaywalking Old Man Had It Coming
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 21, 2014
Modified Jan 21, 2014
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 21, 2014
Modified Jan 21, 2014
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NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton told reporters yesterday that he didn't see anything excessive about the violent arrest and subsequent hospitalization of an 84-year-old man on the Upper West Side for jaywalking. “I’m not aware of excessive force in that at all,” Bratton said, according to the Post. “It was an unfortunate circumstance.”
Bratton added that he believed Kang Wong was injured because he fell, not because he was pushed by NYPD officers: “We’ll have to wait until we end the investigation and get an idea what actually happened.”
Wong was charged with jaywalking, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct. His family is considering a lawsuit.
The mayor's office told the Times that ticketing jaywalkers wasn't part of its plan to reduce pedestrian fatalities, a sentiment that was echoed by police spokesman Stephen Davis.
"It was clear from the investigations that one of the contributing factors was that there was jaywalking," Davis said. "These summonses were given as a result of this particular condition at this intersection."
Those comments belie the fact that the NYPD's first response to a spate of pedestrian fatalities was to ticket twice as many pedestrians as drivers at a single intersection.
In fact, most pedestrians are struck while they're walking in the crosswalk with the light in their favor.
Councilmember Mark Levine, who represents the area, told the Post, “To go from no enforcement to this aggressive action was overkill."
Tagged
Bill Bratton
jaywalking
pedestrian fatalities
pedestrian safety
vision zero
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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