Treyger Denounces DA Decision To Drop Rape Charges Against Police Officers
City Council member Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island, Bensonhurst) condemned the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office decision yesterday to drop rape charges in the trial of two police officers who engaged in sexual activity with a teenager in custody.
On Thursday, the Brooklyn DA’s office dropped the sexual assault charges against ex-officers Eddie Martins and Richard Hall and issued a new indictment on felony bribery and official misconduct in regards to their sexual encounter with Anna Chambers, according to The Patch.
Martins and Hall engaged in sexual activity with a teenager they had detained during an on-duty incident that took place on Sept. 15, 2017 in Brooklyn. Chambers filed a civil complaint against the two officers and testified that she had been raped, but Martins and Hall argued the sex was consensual and that Chambers lied under oath, according to a New York Post report. Martins and Hall might have spent up to 25 years in prison if convicted of kidnapping and raping Chambers in the back of a police van, parked in a Coney Island Chipotle parking lot, on Sept. 15., 2017, court records show. The new indictment charges call for a maximum of seven years.
Treyger recently introduced a resolution calling for legal action to close a state Penal Code loophole that did not explicitly establish that there can be no capacity for consent between law enforcement and individuals they had detained or held in custody during the course of their duty. The measure was adopted last March and the state legislature passed the bill on March 30, 2018.
“There is DNA evidence of the sexual activity, and both the plaintiff and the defendants are in agreement that the sexual activity took place. Any sexual activity that takes place between law enforcement officials and an individual in their custody is rape. This teenager was raped, and the defendants should be charged accordingly because she deserves justice. This sends a dangerous message to victims of rape and sexual assault, who already face an agonizing path when coming forward and disclosing their trauma,” said Treyger.
Rose Votes On Legislation To Condemn Bigotry
Congressman Max Rose (D-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) voted this week in support of a resolution in the House of Representatives condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim, and all forms of hateful rhetoric and bigotry as forms of racism and prejudice.
On Thursday, The House passed resolution 407-23 condemning “anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism and other forms of bigotry” in an effort to tamp down the uproar over Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s criticism of Israel, according to an NPR report. Last week Omar commented that pro-Israel activist were pushing “for allegiance to a foreign country.”
The comments come just weeks after Omar responded to a tweet from journalist Glenn Greenwald, who posted about House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy threatening to punish Omar and another congresswoman for being critical of Israel. Omar wrote back, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” a line about $100 bills from a Puff Daddy song. Critics jumped on the tweet and said Omar was calling up a negative and harmful stereotype of Jewish Americans.
“Anti-Semitism isn’t a game. Over and over again, people have been hurt or murdered simply because they were Jewish in the past year alone. We need to confront the fact that we have members of both parties who have invoked anti-Semitic tropes and imagery—as well as disgusting displays of Islamophobia, xenophobia, and other forms of hateful rhetoric,” said Rose.
“For those who have magically found their strength to tackle bigotry in our country, I would remind them it doesn’t take courage to condemn hate in another party, but it takes character to stand up to your own,” added Rose, the first Jewish Congressman from Staten Island.
Wright To Host Joint Hearing On BK Housing Crisis
Assembly member Tremaine Wright (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) announced this week that she will host a joint legislative hearing alongside State Senator Velmanette Montgomery (D-Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Sunset Park, Gowanus, Park Slope) and Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams focused on addressing the housing crisis facing homeowners of color across the borough.
The hearing will focus on the impact gentrification and the decreasing amounts of affordable housing has had on communities of color including the City’s controversial Third Party Transfer program (TPT) under the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) highlighted through KCP’s ongoing investigative series.
The hearing will focus specifically on Brooklyn and the systemic barriers and practices that have led to a decrease in black and brown homeownership including:
- Continued practice of redlining in minority communities
- Deed Theft
- Equity Theft
- Impact of municipal liens and properties lost due to sewer and water charges
- Predatory foreclosure practices
- Reverse mortgages and its impact on senior homeownership
The event is slated for 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, March 15, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, at 209 Joralemon Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Ortiz Applauds Legislation Increasing Age To 21 For Tobacco Sales
Assistant Speaker Felix w. Ortiz (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) applauded the Assembly’s passage of legislation aimed at increasing the minimum age of tobacco sales to adults to 21 and older.
On Wednesday, The state Assembly voted overwhelmingly to ban the purchase of tobacco products and electronic cigarettes to people under the age of 21, a move expected to be followed in the coming weeks by the state Senate.
Supporters of the bill believe making it more difficult for older teens to obtain cigarettes will dissuade many from taking up smoking in the first place, thereby reducing the odds that they take up the habit as adults. Most adult smokers today say they started smoking as teenagers, studies have shown.
The bill takes effect 120 days after Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, already on record supporting the higher tobacco purchase age, signs it into law, according to The Buffalo News.
“I am pleased that the Assembly passed legislation to increasing the minimum age for tobacco sales to adults 21 and older will help prevent young people from starting to smoke and will reduce the deaths, diseases and the health care costs caused by tobacco and its uses. We must do all we can to help save lives. Tobacco kills. It may take its toll on people years later, but never starting to smoke at a young age makes a major difference,” said Ortiz.
