BP Adams’ “Heroes Of The Month” Includes Good Samaritan From McDonald’s Brawl
A Brooklyn man who was volunteering at a nonprofit event supporting battered women found himself intervening in a violent brawl between two teenage girls at the Flatbush Avenue McDonald’s at Fulton Street this past May 14, getting beaten himself in the process. His actions that day “exemplify the courage and tenacity” of everyday heroes, said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
That is why the man, 43-year-old Iver Whittingham, was chosen to be declared one of two “Heroes of the Month” for July, said Adams. Whittingham and retired NYPD Detective Richard Lyman — who helped solve the 12-year-old murder of a pregnant woman in Flatlands — were the honorees. Both were celebrated at a ceremony this past Tuesday, July 21, at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
“Brooklyn owes a debt of gratitude to Iver Whittingham and retired NYPD Detective Richard Lyman for their commitment to making our borough a safer place to raise healthy children and families,” said Borough President Adams. “Their stories exemplify the courage and tenacity that uniformed officers and everyday civilians can exert to make a difference in our communities. On behalf of One Brooklyn, I salute our latest ‘Heroes of the Month’.”
It was May 14 when Whittingham was volunteering at an event for Battered 2 Beautiful and walked into McDonald’s at 395 Flatbush Avenue for some food. When he spotted two teens fighting, he immediately intervened to break it up, but as seen in video footage, himself got surrounded by several other youths who punched, kicked, thrown against a counter, and chased out of the restaurant. He — along with one of the 17-year-old girls — was taken to Brooklyn Hospital for treatment.
Several suspects in the “gang assault” were arrested in the ensuing days.
Describing the attack that left him battered and bruised, Whittingham stated that “it was a terrible thing that happened, but I hope something positive can come out of this by people learning that they shouldn’t harm people like that or abuse people like that. I’m hoping that anyone that’s out there that’s going through any type of abuse in any way seeks help.”
Adams noted that even after this incident, Whittingham has said that he wouldn’t think twice about helping out another person under attack.
“I would like to thank Iver for what he’s done,” said Aurora Gordon, founder of Battered 2 Beautiful. “One reason I founded Battered 2 Beautiful is because of situations like what happened in the McDonald’s. Clearly, those young ladies have something suppressed inside of them, going on with them, and what Battered 2 Beautiful wants to do is bring that out, so we don’t have the violence.”