Hell's Kitchen Activist Recounts NYPD Raid: 'I Was Traumatized'

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — The activist whose Hell's Kitchen apartment was besieged by the NYPD last month recounted the incident before the neighborhood's community board Wednesday night, describing his terror as the raid unfolded and calling for answers about who authorized it.

Derrick Ingram, 28, was invited to speak over Zoom at Community Board 4's monthly board meeting Wednesday evening. In an impassioned statement, he asked the board to write to City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and call for an investigation into the event.

"On Friday, Aug. 7, I was awoken at 7 a.m. to the police banging at my door," Ingram told the board. "For the next five hours, dozens of officers harassed, berated me and terrorized me by taking over my street, barricading my neighbors in and out, and blocking off neighboring buildings."

The police mobilization included two helicopters and officers in riot gear, who blocked the streets surrounding Ingram's West 45th Street Apartment. Police later said that Ingram, co-founder of the anti-racist advocacy group Warriors in the Garden, was wanted for second-degree assault for allegedly shouting into a police officer's ear through a megaphone during a June Midtown protest, causing her a headache and temporary hearing loss.

Ingram turned himself in at the NYPD's Midtown North precinct the day after the raid, and the charge against him was reduced to a misdemeanor.

Ingram described streaming live on Instagram from his apartment as officers banged on his door and demanded to be let in. He refused unless officers could display a warrant, which they declined to do, eventually leaving without making an arrest as a crowd formed outside and 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

Ingram said Wednesday that he'd heard police dogs scratching at his door during the raid, and that an NYPD battering ram left the door dented. Days after the raid, Ingram broke out in hives, he said, adding that he has suffered from night terrors and now feels unsafe in his own home.

"To say that I was terrified is an understatement — I was traumatized, I still am," Ingram said. "I fear deep down in my core that if I opened my door to those officers, my life would be swiftly taken."

Police later admitted to using facial recognition technology, apparently based on an Instagram photo of Ingram, in their effort to track him down.

"I’m scared now to walk the streets of Hell's Kitchen alone," Ingram said Wednesday. "Not only because of the police’s physical presence but because of their utilization of facial recognition and abuse of power and digital harassment."

Later in the meeting, State Sen. Brad Hoylman, who represents Hell's Kitchen, said he was "very moved" by Ingram's testimony, and told the board that he had joined Borough President Gale Brewer in sending a letter to NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, demanding an explanation of that day's events.

Hoylman praised Ingram's decision not to open his door to the officers, adding that it aligned with the ACLU's guidance about what to do when stopped by police.

"I thought it was really inspiring that one of our constituents knows not to open the door when somebody’s banging on it without a warrant," Hoylman said.

After hours of debate, the board voted to send two letters — one to the City Council and one to the NYPD — condemning the raid, requesting more information about how it was authorized and inquiring why facial recognition software was used.

Related coverage: Borough Prez Demands Answers In Siege Of Activist's Apartment