Neighbors Rally Outside Flatbush Junction Target; Call For Dropping Charges Against Alando Brissett, Who Was Punched & Pinned To Ground During Arrest
For the dozens of people standing outside the Flatbush Junction Target Monday evening, the video showing a 25-year-old neighbor, Alando Brissett, being punched and pinned to the ground while being arrested at Target a little more than a week ago was emblematic of what they described as a broken system in which rapid gentrification, racism and classism have made staying in the communities many have spent their entire lives in downright dangerous.
“Alando is facing four different criminal charges — it’s ridiculous; he didn’t do anything criminal,” Equality for Flatbush’s Imani Henry said as the large crowd gathered outside the Target at 1598 Flatbush Avenue last night to protest the NYPD and call for the charges against Brissett to be dropped.
“The fact that this escalated to violence quickly shows the way the police show up; they show up ready to fight,” Henry continued in reference to video footage depicting 70th Precinct police officers repeatedly punching Alando as he was on the ground. “There’s no reason it should’ve escalated like this.”
According to the criminal complaint, a Target employee called the NYPD on the evening of Saturday, July 25, after she and Brissett got into an argument when Brissett, who lives in our community, asked for a receipt after returning bottles for cash at the store — something which he frequently did to make some extra cash. He hadn’t had problems receiving receipts before, those who knew him said. Once police arrived, neighbor Michael Rolland began filming the interaction that included a large group of officers on top of Brissett, punching him and pinning him down as other shoppers rush to try to stop the police.
The video has prompted an internal investigation by the NYPD, and copies of the video have been sent to the ACLU and the NYCLU. Brissett now faces charges of trespassing, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration, police said.
Following the arrest, family members said Brissett has suffered from a range of physical problems.
“He has trouble swallowing; there’s extreme pain from where he was punched,” Karimah, Brissett’s cousin, said during the protest, which Brissett wasn’t able to attend.
During yesterday’s event, many speakers, from teachers to college students and community activists, said gentrification has left residents to navigate an increasingly hostile police presence.
“The fact that we have gentrification — that’s why the police were able to swarm so quickly,” Henry said in reference to the number of officers quickly increasing during the interaction with Brissett.
“We know people can’t walk through Prospect Park without getting stopped; we know you haven’t been drinking, but there’s an open container next to you and the police stop you,” Henry continued. “We know this is happening because of gentrification… Gentrification and harassment and police brutality go hand in hand.”
In addition to calling for the charges to be dropped, speakers last night said they wanted to see Target issue an apology to Brissett.
“The brother wanted a receipt, and it turned into 20 cops and him?” Henry asked. “Release the names of the cops who were beating him and then take them off the streets.”
Molly Snyder, a spokeswoman for Target, emailed in a statement following our inquiry about the video, saying, “At Target, we take the safety and security of our guests, team members and property very seriously. Following concerning behavior by one of our guests, the team contacted law enforcement.”
Neighbor Anita Neal, the mother of Kyam Livingston, a 37-year-old Ditmas Park resident who died at Brooklyn’s central booking site after family members said police repeatedly ignored her pleas for medical attention, gave an emotional speech, telling the Brissett family that she wanted to “fight for anybody who needs help.
“Don’t be afraid to fight,” Neal said. “Your son — thank God he’s still alive. My daughter’s dead.”
It is this culture in which neighbors of color say they feel targeted by police that has permeated them with fear, making them wonder if something like that which happened to Brissett, Eric Garner and others could happen to them.
“I’m scared for my brothers — what’ll happen to them walking down the street?” asked Donnay, a 20-year-old neighbor who works for CUNY’s Revolutionary Students Coordinating Committee. “What will the police do?”
“They’re building condos and opening coffee stores, and yet we don’t have community centers,” Donnay said. “There’s no recreational space… but you can’t go outside and play football because you’re criminalized.”
Michael Rolland and his girlfriend, Anick Boyd, who both were at Target while Rolland filmed Brissett’s arrest, urged others who witnessed, or took footage of, the incident to release information to the Civil Complaint Review Board.
“We saw something we knew was wrong,” said Rolland, who lives in the neighborhood. “We wanted to bring attention to this issue.”