BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) – A city council member accused of biting an NYPD officer during a protest Wednesday in Brooklyn said she was protecting an older community member, and said the police’s behavior was “upsetting.”
Susan Zhuang, who represents Bensonhurst, said in a news conference Thursday that officers cuffed her, pulled her hair and grabbed her neck during her arrest at a protest against a shelter in the neighborhood. Zhuang said she struggled to breathe.
"I never imagined [it’d] happen to me… that should not happen to anyone,” Zhuang said as the crowd yelled out things like "fire them."
Zhuang was charged with assault, resisting arrest, and obstruction of governmental administration, police said. Six other protesters were given desk tickets, police said. Around 150 demonstrators were protesting where a new homeless shelter is being built, which would be the first of its kind in the community, according to a spokesperson for City Hall.
Zhuang has been outspoken about her opposition to the homeless shelter, but the Adams administration on Wednesday affirmed its support for the shelter.
On Thursday, Zhuang showed more photos from the chaotic protest, including a photo seemingly showing a woman pinned under a police barrier, who Zhuang said she was protecting.
Zhuang showed another video that appeared to show an officer holding and moving Zhuang by her neck.
“Police brutality is wrong… the misuse of enforcement is wrong," Zhuang said. "This issue is not unique to myself, many members of the Asian community have been subject to the excessive enforcement."
Zhuang said she has been a supporter of the NYPD in the past, something Mayor Eric Adams also noted when he addressed the incident.
“It was a pretty nasty bite,” Adams told PIX11 News on Thursday. “I was a little bit surprised that this happened with the councilwoman. She’s extremely supportive of police… these are emotional issues. No one wants a shelter open in their area.”
Speaker Adrienne Adams took issue with the mayor's handling of the situation, and wondered whether other elected officials would receive so much grace in Zhuang's position.
"I honestly don’t think that some of my other members would be receiving the same level of grace from the mayor and a sit down conversation right now,” Adrienne Adams said.
