2014/01/20
NEW YORK — Cops beat an 84-year-old man so badly that he had to be rushed to the hospital.
His crime? Jaywalking.
Kang Wong was allegedly “jaywalking” across 96th street in the afternoon when a cop commanded him to stop.
According to witnesses, Wong did not understand the officer’s order.
“Wong didn’t seem to speak English,” said a student who observed the incident.
“The cop stood put him up against the wall and was trying to write him a ticket. The man didn’t seem to understand, and he started walking away.”
“The cop tried to pull him back, and he began to struggle with the cop,” continued the student.
That’s when officers from all directions swarmed in on Wong and started attacking him.
Wong’s face was bleeding from cuts all over.
Then the officers forced him into handcuffs and locked him in a cell at the 24th precinct jail.
It turns out that Wong’s son, who has not released his name, is a lawyer.
In an interview with the New York Post, he said “The cops are playing games. They won’t tell me what he’s being charged with.”
When the son was in contact with the police, they would not tell him which hospital his father was taken to.
It wasn’t until the son went to the jail that he found out his father had been beaten, arrested, kidnapped, and locked in a cage for the victimless “crime” of crossing a street.
“Oh, great! Beating up on an 84-year-old man for jaywalking,’’ he said.
The New York Post reports that “neither the hospital nor the cops would allow him to see his dad until after 10 p.m., explaining that since he’d not been admitted, he was not a patient, but a ‘prisoner.'”
To add insult to injury, cops have stacked even more charges on Wong besides jaywalking.
He is now facing charges of “resisting arrest,” “obstructing governmental administration,” and “disorderly conduct.”
“He was just walking across the street with other people, and they picked him out. How could they do that to an 84-year-old man?’’ said Wong’s son.
The NYPD has assured the media that they are internally reviewing the incident.
Related: Cops Beat Elderly Deaf Man for Refusing Orders That He Couldn’t Hear
UPDATE (02/02/14): Victim Fights Back with Lawsuit for $5 Million
The New York Daily News reports that Kang Wong, the 84-yr-old man who was beaten by police after allegedly “jaywalking,” is now suing the city for $5 million.
The report includes an interview with Wong in which he states: ““I didn’t commit any crime. They made me feel shame. I was very humiliated.”
His “head, arm and ribs” are still sore from the incident, according to the interview.
Wong said that even though he crossed when the light was green, an unidentified officer approached him and commanded him to hand over his ID.
When Wong submitted his ID, he says the officer began walking away with it, causing him to be confused.
“I was very puzzled and I was very scared. I had no idea why I had been stopped,” he said.
Wong began asking for his ID back, and that’s when several officers began attacking him.
Despite posing no threat, officers reportedly pushed him to the ground and bashed him in his head until he passed out.
Wong has been part of the community for decades and owns a restaurant that serves Chinese-Spanish cuisine. His restaurant is loved by locals, and he recalls serving police food many times over the years when they stopped in.
After beating and arresting him, the police trapped him in the precinct and did not give him any food or water.
Now, Wong has hired a lawyer and plans to fight back with a lawsuit for $5 million.
“We can have police efforts focused on pedestrian safety without violating the civil rights of our citizens,” said Sanford Rubenstein, his lawyer.