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Op-Ed: The Police Have Failed Us

by Elad Nehorai

In the last week, there has been an attempted rape of an engaged woman and a brutal beating and mugging of a Jewish man in Crown Heights. In the case of the attempted rape, despite the woman’s attempts to convince them otherwise, the police refused to classify it as an attempted rape.

While the claim is that Hurricane Sandy has caused the lack of a real response by the police, there is little question that there is a pattern of neglect and failure among the police in our area to protect its Jewish citizens.

For example, there have been repeated attacks aimed specifically at the Jewish residents of Crown Heights. During the High Holidays of Tishrei the Kingston Avenue subway station, across from the Chabad headquarters of 770, was gratified with slogans such as, “The world would be better off if all the Jews were lampshades” and “Hitler was right re the Jews.” During that same period, a man followed a Jewish woman home and robbed her and a man was mugged during Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. No suspects have been caught in any of these attacks.

In addition, a month ago, a young man was beaten by a police officer in the Aliyah Center, a home for troubled youths in Crown Heights. It got a lot of press and attention thanks to a video surveillance system installed in the center. If it wasn’t for the video, of course, that man would still be in jail right now and that cop would be out on the street.

And while the residents are worried and outraged about all this, they feel powerless to do anything about the failure of their police force. Besides a small gathering to protest the police’s beating of the man in the Aliyah center, there has been very little attention given to the danger we all feel we are in and our belief that the police have failed in their duty.

It’s time that this changes. The people in Crown Heights need to demand that the press in New York begin reporting these incidents more widely. In addition, the press has a responsibility to report these as attacks specifically targeted at Jews. The video of the man who was mugged this week needs to be shared. And most importantly, pressure needs to be put on the Crown Heights police force to do their jobs.

Until we organize and speak out about the failure of our police department to prevent and investigate these crimes, and the failure of the press to report them, we need to continue to speak out.

Please share this article, as well as the video of the beating of the man on President and Albany.

The police have failed us. It is time that we speak out.

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14 Comments

  • if there voted out dont let them represe

    you would be much better off if you could present noral community leadership

    not channina who they all know was voted out using money to buy his way back in

  • Hashem have Rachmanus over us allready.

    Please Hashem have rachmanus over you’re kinder the yidden and take us and urself out of galus together with moshiach tzidkeinu. Oy Rebbenyu rattavet rattavet!!! I am sick and tired of these shavartze chaleriahs mechuarim. Look where these mechuraim come from chom who raped his father noach and castrated him like we just learned in parshas noach. Its time we stopped relying on the police and take the matters into our own hands like the satmer chasidim do. It is know even the police are afraid of the satmer chasidim. Its time now that the shomrim started carying guns at Least big knives wheter it is legal or not. Its time that the police feared us the children and chasidim of moshiach tzidkeinu.

  • File the crimes ourselves+ cameras!!

    Why dont we keep our own records/files of crimes comited in the neighborhood, contrast them with how the police file them, and the publicize this contrast.
    everyone knows that the police downplay the crimes so they don’t look bad. A simple solution for the police would be, um, to do their job in protecting us and filing crimes the way they are.
    If they are accepting our word to file the crime in the first place then why aren’t they filing it the way it is being described?? E.g a potential rape ch’v…
    Cameras would be a great deterrent and hold the police accountable.

  • Drudge

    The video of the mugging is on drudge. Can’t get better news coverage than that.

  • Fave uncle!

    i am sick and tired of ppl going on how things have to change, nothing will ever change because as time has progressed we as Jews in ch have become cowards. Its time for us as a ppl to stick up for our self and do whats right…………….defend our self at any cost.

  • oy yoy yoy yoy yoy

    If people are going to spend all that money on installing cameras, why can’t they put cameras that can see perfect. Otherwise they are no different than apple bank. They just give away free money, but cant get a good picture. Penny wise but no seichel.

  • CH DOESN’T CARE!!!

    A young man was brutally beaten up 2 weeks ago by the cops; a demonstration was planned and well promoted a few days in advance.
    The media came prepared to report a large demonstration, the police came and put up barriers, preparing for a large demonstration, Dov Hikind showed up and a prominent lawyer showed up to address the crowd, local African American politicians showed up, a black minister came all the way from Harlem to show his support. And Crown heightsers? 150 people showed up, that is less than 1% of Jewish CH.
    We demonstrated very clearly that crown heights Jews do not care if they get beaten, mugged and disrespected by the police. None of our “leaders” showed up to demonstrate against the police brutality.
    Some people say the demonstration should have been called for a different day and time, that 2:00 Friday afternoon was not convenient, maybe so, but any day and time is inconvenient for some people. We should have had 1,500 people at least not a measly 150.
    We deserve what we get.

  • CH wake up

    almost 3 years ago we went to vote for change in our community BUT the bad guys again hijacked our community.
    did you ever stiop to think what happend here?
    guys talk is cheap and Chalila the Mamzer is Running our community ???
    are you guys for real ???
    you are all LOOSERS ……
    Chalila the mamzer will come with Heikind the mosser and some other clouns and than what ?
    10 million dollars this ganovim take every year what are thy doing here.
    send them all to Dov Heikind the Mosser and than to timbaktoo
    and yes i forgat the father of the drug dealer where is he lately ? and the sugar with the coffee .
    election now and lets get real people this time voted in

  • Failed Yourself

    As another commentor has pointed out, only 150 people showed up to the demonstration. We the Crown Heights community failed OURSELVES.

    You can’t have it both ways. If you are “too busy” to come to a demostration, then don’t suddenly make free time to pen op-ed’s about the police failing us.

  • Bob

    only 150 showed to your stupid demonstration because it was on a Friday afternoon. Idiots. People work and are shomer Shabbos in this neighborhood. I’m surprised that 150 came. You should have gotten less with you horribly planned protest.

  • Good advice

    First call shomrim.
    then call the police.
    Then call the Ny Daily News.
    Media frenzy works.

  • shooting star

    the problem is people here just talk talk talk and dont take action hamaase hu haikar

  • Leah in VA

    I’ve gone to protests on a short friday. It was important to me, so I planned accordingly. You have a chance on tuesday to get some good change. Yet how many people from CH are going to vote? I would be surprised if you get 15%. Stop bellyaching, get off your chair and WORK for what you want.