One of the men arrested in this weekend’s melee with NYPD officers told ANIMAL he is scared to walk the streets now and that he was an innocent bystander caught in the chaos.
Edwin Rosario, 46, of Sunset Park, Brooklyn (where the clash with cops took place on Sunday) said that he left his house to go to the local bakery to get a Cuban sandwich.
“Then a cop stopped me, handcuffed me and pushed me into the car,” Rosario said.
ANIMAL spoke to Rosario over the phone through his sister because he could not leave work. Local community organizer Dennis Flores of El Grito De Sunset Park — a local watchdog group — confirmed Rosario was one of those arrested. “I went to help bail him out [on Monday],” Flores said on the corner of 46s Street and 5th Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.
Rosario said he spent Sunday night in jail with the other four people who were arrested then was released on Monday. Online records confirm Rosario’s arrest. He was charged with obstructing governmental administration, harassment, and resisting arrest. Rosario said he has a court date set for September 24.
ANIMAL confirmed with the NYPD that an officer has been suspended and that Internal Affairs is looking into the incident. Two people in the neighborhood told me they were interviewed by IA investigators, who were also canvassing businesses on the block and asking for video footage.
“As soon as I left jail I went straight home last night,” he said. “I’ve lived here 20 years I’ve haven’t gotten into no problems I’m scared to be walking the streets now.”
