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Brooklyn Sen. Kevin Parker won’t face charges for Albany altercation
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 21, 2024
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Photo courtesy of the New York State Senate Flickr
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 21, 2024
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Brooklyn state Sen. Kevin Parker will not face charges for his role in a shouting match with a disability rights advocate who claimed the Democratic lawmaker shoved him at the Capitol in Albany last week.
Michael Carey, a well-known presence in Albany who submitted a sworn deposition accusing Parker of pushing him twice during a heated argument, told Gothamist he spoke with the senator by phone on Friday and they “worked things out.”
“Everything’s been resolved,” Carey said. “I’ve had a number of conversations with the senator over the years and everything was fine and cordial, so that was way out of the norm.”
Carey said he contacted New York State Police on Friday and said he didn’t wish to proceed with the case.
Parker could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Stephanie O’Neil, a State Police spokesperson, confirmed the agency closed the investigation without any arrests.
The altercation between Parker and Carey, which was first reported by Politico, occurred last Wednesday before the start of a meeting of the Senate Energy Committee, which the senator chairs.
Carey has spent years advocating — often vocally and aggressively — for a bill requiring mandated reporters at state-authorized care facilities to call 911 when they come across suspected abuse or serious unexplained injuries, rather than reporting them only to the state Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs.
Carey’s son Jonathan was killed by an employee while he was in the state’s care in 2007.
In a deposition posted by Politico, Carey said he asked Parker to sign on as a co-sponsor for the bill, as he had in previous years. Carey, who is white, said he told the senator that the 911 bill is a “Martin Luther King-related issue” — which Carey said he believes angered Parker, who is Black.
In his deposition, Carey claimed Parker “grabbed me with both of his hands on my shoulders and shoved me” before pushing him a second time.
Parker, who lives in Flatbush, is a veteran lawmaker who has been in the Senate since 2003. His district stretches from Mill Basin to the edge of Prospect Park.
Parker has had a history of shouting matches that have occasionally turned physical. In 2010, he was convicted of two counts of criminal mischief for damaging a New York Post photographer’s camera.
Parker is also facing a civil lawsuit from a woman who claims he raped her in 2004, which Parker denies.
The senator made no promises related to the 911 bill as part of their conversation on Friday, Carey said.
But Carey said he will continue to urge lawmakers to pass the bill before the end of the legislative session in early June.
“For me, the most important thing is we get some key reforms done in the system,” Carey said. “And this bill I wrote — I’ve been fighting for it for many, many, many years.”
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new york state
Politics
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Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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