Democratic councilwoman Susan Zhuang allegedly bit a deputy New York City Police Department (NYPD) chief during a protest against a newly built homeless shelter in Brooklyn Wednesday morning, according to the New York Post.
She allegedly bit Deputy Chief of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South Frank DiGiacomo on the arm in an attempt to obstruct law enforcement from reaching another protester, the outlet reported. “Biting a cop is a felony,” a source close to the New York City Council (NYCC) told the New York Post. “We need to back the blue, not bite the blue.”
The councilwoman is a member of the NYCC’s Common Sense Caucus, which claims in their mission statement to try to “ensure that New Yorkers are able to enjoy a safe and secure city.”
Local residents in Bensonhurst are protesting a homeless shelter that was being opened at 5AM with NO consent from the community, or their Council Member Susan Zhuang! Zhuang stood up for her community, and was arrested this morning protesting this shelter. WE STAND WITH SUSAN… pic.twitter.com/tCdTYD0jCp
— Curtis Sliwa (@CurtisSliwa) July 17, 2024
The protest broke out after construction began on a nearby homeless shelter designed to house up to 150 adult men, according to the New York Post. Local residents opposed the shelter saying that it could, as the New York Post put it, “become a magnet for drugs, crime and other trouble when it opens later this year.”
Zhuang claimed the city did not notify locals before beginning construction — which a Department of Social Services spokesperson denied, stating that the community was told about the plans as early as November 2023, according to the New York Post.
Zhuang was held at New York City’s 62nd Precinct before being arraigned and released, according to the New York Post. The act is likely to lead to her removal with a source close to the NYCC reportedly telling the NYP that her behavior was “disqualifying for a council member.
“On Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at 0700 hours, the Operations Unit was notified of a scheduled demonstration at 2501 86th Street, in the confines of the 62 Precinct,” the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information (DCPI) told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “There [were] approximately 150 participants with the group “Residents against Homeless Shelters, as per the Incident Commander. There were minor injuries to officers and were listed and stable condition and removed to a local hospital.”
The New York City Council’s 43rd District office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comment from the deputy commissioner’s office.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/X/Curtis Sliwa)
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