A New York parks peace officers union is demanding stiffer penalties for a white man accused of assaulting a Black peace officer and insulting him with racist slurs.
Authorities said on Dec. 28, 2021, Jake Grogan, 21 was speeding through a COVID-19 testing site above the 5 mph limit at the Greenbelt Recreation Center in Staten Island, New York.
A Black licensed security officer working on behalf of the New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol asked Grogan to slow down, however, this caused him to go on a racist rant where the 21-year-old reportedly saying, “I’ll f–k you up” while rolling up his sleeves.
According to his report, Parks Enforcement Patrol Sgt. Dornell Grant came over to deescalate the incident, but Grogan reportedly spit on the Black security officer. Grant placed Grogan under arrest, to which Grogan “flailed his body and throwing punches and dirt in [Sgt. Grant’s] face” the arrest statement said. Grogan went on a racist tirade which included, “You stupid Blackies, it’s not illegal to be racist, you stupid n—–s.”
“We feel like this guy can be a potential ticking timebomb,” Joe Puleo, President of Local 983 union that represents PEP officers said.
While at the NYPD Staten Island police precinct, Sgt. Grant says Grogan bragged about throwing dirt in his face. Video evidence to back up this claim reportedly exists.
Grant says the NYPD desk sergeant on duty suggested Grogan be summoned and released with misdemeanor charges.
“Here in New York, an assault charge is different on a Peace Officer it’s different than an assault charge on an individual. If you have an assault charge on an individual you must show some markings or bruising, you don’t have to have those markings when it’s against a police officer or a peace officer. … They treated basically Mr. Grant as if he was a regular person, Mr. Grant was a symbol of authority,” Puleo said.
Puleo says the union wants 21-year-old to face more serious charges, including a hate crime charge.
New York City’s Parks and Recreation Department called the incident, “unacceptable.”
