Woman accuses NYPD of failing to protect her from Brooklyn mob in $1.25 million claim

A Brooklyn woman who was surrounded and accosted by dozens of Orthodox Jewish men and boys after a protest in Crown Heights this spring has filed a $1.25 million claim with the Comptroller’s Office.

The claim, which is a procedural step required before filing a lawsuit against the city, alleges NYPD officers ignored threats to the woman as she was set upon by the large crowd. A video that went viral after the incident shows one officer ultimately escorting her to safety as dozens of men and boys shout insults at her, threaten her with sexual assault, kick her and throw objects at her.

The woman’s attorney, Leo Glickman, requested her name be concealed in public filings and also asked Gothamist not to publish it due to safety concerns.

The claim filing serves as notice to the city that the woman intends to sue for an alleged violation of her First Amendment rights. Such claim could be settled after an investigation by the agency, or the woman could pursue a lawsuit in court, according to procedures described the Comptroller's Office.

The incident unfolded after a small number of protesters gathered in late April outside the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway to demonstrate against an appearance by Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right security minister. Scores of counterprotesters and other people confronted the demonstrators, as seen in videos from the scene.

In her claim, the woman says she was not at the scene as a protester. She says she showed up to see what was happening after hearing a helicopter hover over her nearby apartment. The people in the crowd surrounded her after they mistook for a protester, according to the claim. As members of the threatening crowd began to film her, she pulled a scarf over her face to shield her identity, she says.

The claim alleges that because the NYPD did not do more to protect her that night, it’s indicative of “disparate treatment of protesters in New York City based on their point of view.”

The NYPD said its Hate Crimes Task Force is continuing an investigation into the incident, and noted a Crime Stoppers reward of $3,500 for information about it.

Glickman said he believes the NYPD and city leadership show a bias against pro-Palestinian protesters. Even though his client was not there to protest, the officers perceived she was sympathetic to the demonstrators and thus failed to rein in the crowd that accosted her, the claim alleges.

The claim comes as the NYPD’s response to protests is under scrutiny. The NYPD has stressed it's able to control protests in the city after the Trump administration deployed military troops to Los Angeles in response to demonstrations against immigration enforcement. Employees of the Department of Investigation have also monitored the NYPD’s response as part of a legal agreement reached after protesters claimed police illegally arrested them in 2020.

Glickman told Gothamist that officers at the scene that night gave tacit approval for the crowd to assault his client.

“A police officer standing there while someone is getting assaulted and if the police officer doesn't try to arrest that person or do something to stop it, what essentially the police officer is saying is: ‘Go ahead, you're you're allowed to assault this person,’” Glickman said.

A detective from the Internal Affairs Bureau has also contacted the woman, Glickman said.

The woman said an NYPD hate crimes detective has contacted her numerous times since the incident, but no arrests have been made.

The claim adds that the fact no one has been arrested further emboldens the people who assaulted his client.

In a statement after the incident, a spokesperson for Chabad Lubavitch condemned both the actions of the Hasidic men and teens who attacked the woman and the protesters who demonstrated in front of the synagogue that night.

“We condemn the crude language and violence of the small breakaway group of young people; such actions are entirely unacceptable and wholly antithetical to the Torah’s values. The fact that a possibly uninvolved bystander got pulled into the melee further underscores the point,” Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesperson for Chabad, said in a statement.

Members of the crowd flashed strobe lights at her, which she thought was an attempt to disorient and confuse her. The police officer who escorted her out of the crowd eventually led her to a police car and the woman got inside, according to the video.

“I just ran for my life toward that car,” she said. “As I was running, these men were yelling ‘get her!’ and cheering.”