The 84-year-old man hurt in a scuffle with police who ticketed him for jaywalking told the New York Daily News in an interview that he was “very humiliated” when officers forced him to the ground, knocking him out and bloodying his face. And so Kang Chun Wong is going to do what many people do when they feel they’ve been mistreated by the NYPD. He’s going to sue, for $5 million. And he’ll probably get a big, fat settlement.
While the city has pursued charges against Kang, it has denied a coordinated crackdown on jaywalking after the 24th Precinct increased enforcement at the intersection where he was hurt, on 96th and Broadway. That was the scene of three pedestrian deaths in the first few weeks of this year. Over the weekend, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton deleted some tweets supporting the precinct commander for the enforcement action, the Daily News noted. So while Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio have promised to reduce pedestrian deaths, it seems they’ve realized a wholesale crackdown on jaywalking isn’t the way to do it, and that beating up senior citizens who cross against the light (or supporting the officers who did so) is actually not a good look.
