Members of the Uruguayan community in Queens gathered with elected officials and activists yesterday, July 27th, to denounce police conduct on the afternoon of Sunday, July 24th, when New York Police Department (NYPD) officers allegedly assaulted a group of people in Jackson Heights who were celebrating the Uruguayan soccer team's record 15th Copa America victory.
"We want to meet with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and make sure he investigates the inappropriate language, and, moreover, the physical abuse, committed by police officers from Precinct 115," said Silvana Sislian, owner of La Panadería La Gran Uruguaya, the bakery where the incident occurred.
Silvana Sislian. Photo by Annie Correal/EDLP
According to Sislian and some bystanders interviewed by El Diario La Prensa, on Sunday at around 6pm, a handful of police officers attacked a group of Uruguayans who had gathered in front of La Gran Uruguaya, located on 37th Avenue and 86th Street.
However, according to police spokesperson Paul J. Browne, "The NYPD was responding appropriately to control disorderly conduct among a group of 700-800 people on the street in front of a café."
A source from the NYPD said that the group was blocking traffic and refused to disperse when the police approached. Witnesses maintain that there were only 300 people on the street and that they weren't causing any problems. "The whole world was singing and dancing, jumping up and down with flags. If it had been Colombia or Ecuador it would have been all of Jackson Heights, not just half a block," said Sislian.
"Very soon, I saw that an irritated police officer was standing on the corner talking on the phone. 'You need a permit,' we were told. But nobody can stop people from celebrating a soccer victory," said Sislian.
Nevertheless, after just a few minutes, 60 police officers appeared "with their sticks in their hands," according to Sislian. "They began to push people around and tell them to go. Enraged, the police took down an Uruguayan flag," she recalled.
In the midst of the chaos, some people were hurt, allegedly by the police, including a Colombian woman who was walking down the street. Photos show bruises and scratches on her back.
The source from the police department confirmed that five people were detained on charges of obstructing justice, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. La Gran Uruguaya was fined for disorder and for not having signs listing the maximum capacity of individuals allowed in the café.
According to the source from the police department, two police officers were also injured during the incident.
Yesterday, some people gathered at La Gran Uruguaya to share their stories and watch videos recorded by witnesses and placed on YouTube. In one of the videos, a group of police officers confronts a crowd and then closes in on a person they appear to beat. A mother flees the scene with her son crying in her arms. In another video, a police officer can be heard, in English, saying, "This is what happens when you deal with animals."
One of the witnesses, Carlo Garabadian, 56, recalled, "The police were laughing when they were hitting and pushing people around. Nobody was drunk, it was a family-oriented celebration."
The bruises and scratches on a victim's body. Photo by Annie Correal/EDLP
Sislian said that she is terrified by Sunday's events, especially since she has always had a good relationship with the 115th Precinct. Yesterday, Sislian and five others formed a committee to demand justice. They got in touch with Senator José Peralta and Assemblyman Francisco Moya and prepared a petition to deliver to Commissioner Kelly.
"We want him to acknowledge what the officers of Precinct 115 did and to investigate who they were - because in the NYPD it could only have been the best," Sislian said, sardonically.
