Borough Prez Demands Answers In Siege Of Activist's Apartment

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — Nearly two weeks after police squads swarmed Hell's Kitchen and engaged in an hourslong standoff with a Black Lives Matter protester outside his apartment, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer wrote a letter to NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, asking that the department provide a full explanation of that day's events.

Brewer's letter, sent on Wednesday, came 12 days after dozens of officers, including riot cops and two helicopters, converged on the West 45th Street apartment of Derrick Ingram, a 28-year-old co-founder of Warriors in the Garden, an advocacy group that has led peaceful protests against racism throughout the summer.

For five hours on Aug. 7, Ingram streamed live on Instagram from his apartment as officers banged on his door and demanded to be let in. Ingram refused unless officers could display a warrant, which they declined to do, eventually leaving without making an arrest as a crowd outside chanted in Ingram's support.

NYPD has left. Still no warrant provided. https://t.co/8m5CucOk8S pic.twitter.com/mVcDmcaX8n
— Warriors in The Garden (@WarriorsITG) August 7, 2020

Police later said Ingram had been wanted for second-degree assault for allegedly shouting into a police officer's ear through a megaphone during a June 14 Midtown protest, leaving her with pain and hearing issues. Ingram turned himself in the following day at the NYPD's Midtown North precinct.

In the letter, Brewer asked Shea to provide an explanation of that day's events, including clarifying whether a warrant for Ingram's arrest had been obtained or sought — "and if not, why the department acted as if this was an appropriate way to attempt an arrest of Mr. Ingram."

Brewer called the department's failure to provide a warrant "outrageous," a violation of Ingram's constitutional rights and "a disturbingly authoritarian move by your department."

Mayor Bill de Blasio later faulted the NYPD for its tactics during the attempted arrest, and said that Shea had called off the raid after learning what was taking place. Other elected officials including City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who represents Hell's Kitchen, likewise criticized the department.

Writing to the commissioner, Brewer said de Blasio's comments raise "significant questions regarding your oversight of police operations, and given the scope and scale of this incident, doubt about the reliability of the department’s command and control structure."

Reached for comment, an NYPD spokesperson did not address Brewer's letter or whether the commissioner planned to respond, instead referring Patch to prior statements about Ingram's arrest.