New York Post by Lee Brown and Julia Marsh
Hundreds of alleged looters and rioters busted last year in protests over George Floyd’s murder by police have had their charges dropped, according to NYPD data — figures ripped as “disgusting” by a local business owner.
In The Bronx — which saw fires in the street and mass looting in June 2020 — more than 60 percent of arrestees have had charges dropped, according to the investigation by NBC New York.
Seventy-three of the 118 people arrested in the borough had their cases shelved altogether, another 19 were convicted on lesser counts like trespassing, which carries no jail time, the report said.
Eighteen cases remain open, with NBC not accounting for the other eight arrests.
“Those numbers, to be honest with you, is disgusting,” Jessica Betancourt, who owns a Bronx eyeglass store that was looted and is vice president of a local merchants association, told NBC. “I was in total shock that everything is being brushed off to the side.
“They could do it again because they know they won’t get the right punishment,” she added of the rioters who again left the Bronx burning.
In Manhattan — where looters ran rampant across Soho and Midtown— 222 of those arrested had their cases completely dropped, while 73 got lesser counts.
Of the 485 people busted in the borough, 128 have open criminal court cases, while 40 juvenile defendants had their cases moved to family court, NBC found.
Another 40 cases with juvenile defendants were sent to family court.
Sources in the DA’s offices insisted that in many of the cases, the evidence was not strong enough to secure a conviction. The offices are also swamped with a backlog of cases created by the courts’ prolonged closure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patrice O’Shaughnessy, a spokeswoman for the Bronx DA’s Office, provided differing information than the NBC report.
She said there were 90 total arrests on felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from riots on June 1 and 2 last year — and 28 were outright dismissals, accounting for about 31 percent.
Fourteen cases were resolved with what’s known as an “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal” — meaning, charges get tossed if the defendant stays out of trouble for six months or completes community service.
The remainder of the cases were either resolved with a guilty plea or conditional discharge, or are still pending, according to O’Shaughnessy.
“We went forward with cases for which we had evidence and a complaining witness,” she said. “Some cases were dismissed but we held people accountable because we do not tolerate violence against Bronx business owners.”
Former NYPD Chief of Patrol Wilbur Chapman said that the district attorneys’ offices and the courts had “allowed people who committed crimes to go scot-free.”
“If they are so overworked that they can’t handle the mission that they’re hired for, then maybe they should find another line of work,” Chapman told NBC.
And NYPD Deputy Inspector Andrew Arias asserted that painstaking work went into each case.
“We had to analyze each case individually and see if, in fact, we could prove the right person had committed the crime,” Arias said.
Meanwhile, two of the top candidates in the Democratic mayoral primary panned the move Sunday.
“Everyone needs to be safe in their communities and store owners need to know that their property is going to be protected,” said Kathryn Garcia in a statement. “When I’m mayor, I will work to ensure the NYPD partners with the District Attorney’s office to make sure that they have the resources and support they need to seek accountability and justice.”
Added Andrew Yang, “While the vast majority of those protesting last year did so peacefully, those who broke the law, broke windows, destroyed small businesses and acted violently and recklessly must be held accountable.”
Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain who has positioned himself as the field’s law-and-order candidate, did not respond to a question about the report at a Sunday campaign event.
The campaign of Maya Wiley — whose platform supports defunding the NYPD — didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Bronx DA Darcell Clark declined repeated requests for an interview with NBC, as did Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr., with the latter’s office busy investigating former President Donald Trump’s businesses, the outlet said.
The station noted an internal memo in which Vance says that there are more than 3,500 unindicted felony cases waiting to move forward that have been on hold due to the pandemic.
Before dropping a case, Vance told his prosecutors to review defendants’ criminal histories, whether police could really place the suspect at the scene, and whether the individual caused “any damage to the store.”
“For many of these commercial burglaries, you will be asked to reduce the initial felony charge to a misdemeanor and to dispose of the case … with an eye towards rehabilitation,” Vance told his office, according to NBC.
Court spokesman Lucian Chalfen told NBC that the decisions to dismiss cases were primarily made by the district attorneys.
“An application must be made by the district attorney or as they have done with hundreds of DATs [desk appearance tickets], decline to prosecute them,” Chalfen said.
Additional reporting by Sean Conlin
