One of New York City's police unions says a Sunday morning mugging on the streets of Brooklyn shows how recent laws are giving criminals free rein over the city's five boroughs and called on state and city politicians to "fix their mistakes."
"These are NYC streets! What used to be the safest big city sent back to the days of high crime due to failed laws that allow no consequences and embolden criminals," the Detectives’ Endowment Association said on Twitter, sharing a video of the attack the New York Police Department had posted online Sunday.
"Politicians in Albany and City Hall need to step up now to fix their mistakes and keep New Yorkers safe," the union said in its comment.
The New York Police Department is investigating the early morning mugging of a 68-year-old man in Brooklyn, with the assailant punching the victim even after the wounded man had been forced to the sidewalk, reports The New York Post.
According to a 17-second video clip released by the NYPD on Twitter Sunday, the mugger, who was riding a Citi Bike, approached the victim at about 9:05 a.m. before punching him almost a dozen times and then robbed him, turning his body to grab things out of his pockets.
The NYPD says, the suspect first patted the man's pockets while demanding property from him and when the victim didn't give up his items, the mugger kicked and punched him and stole a cell phone and a silver necklace, before fleeing on Pitkin Avenue.
The man's nose and wrist were broken in the assault and he suffered several cuts, reports The New York Daily News.
"We’re all confused and upset," the victim’s 20-year-old granddaughter told the newspaper. "He hit my grandfather and now he’s in the hospital ... He keeps to himself. He’s a nice, loving person."
The attack occurs as the city's official NYPD crime tracker shows violent crimes like rapes, murders, and felony assaults are on the rise since 2020, and gun violence has climbed to 767 shootings through July 5.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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