Police car jumps curb at Avenue D and Fifth Street; nine people hospitalized

From a summation of various reports from late yesterday afternoon: A police car, responding to a call, was speeding on Avenue D when it made a left turn onto Fifth Street, toward Avenue C, when it collided with a white Cadillac. (The accounts vary on which vehicle struck first.) Witnesses say the officer turned on his siren and, seconds later, lost control, jumped the curb and hit a crowd of people on the sidewalk. The Times reports today that nine people were hospitalized, including an infant, and are in stable condition.




Three TV news outlets were on the scene: NY1, WPIX and Telemundo 47.



Bob Arihood was there shortly after the accident occurred, and has many dramatic photos.

Not so Smart now

At Houston and Clinton.

This ticket's for you

Cop tickets a Bud truck hogging up Avenue A at Ninth Street Saturday.

Did the Donut Social cause a headache for HOWL?

Scoopy's Notebook in The Villager this week has more on the fallout from the Donut Social on Sept. 5:

The L.E.S. Slacktivists’ sound-permit flap spilled over to the recent HOWL! Festival, causing some howls of frustration from festival organizers. After John Penley, Jerry “The Peddler” Wade and Bill Cashman, Leftover Crack’s manager, argued in federal court that the local crust-core band’s planned concert outside the Ninth Police Precinct on Sept. 5 was being held to unfairly low decibel levels, police apparently felt they had to make a better show of monitoring HOWL! sound levels. Artist James Romberger, whose wife, Marguerite Van Cook, ran this year’s festival, as she did last year, said that “The Death to the Police Rally,” as he called it, caused a headache for HOWL! “We were enforced,” Romberger said. “They stood there all day with whatever those were…sound guns, or whatever.” Actually, Romberger said he’s more concerned about the whole “death” trend of late by local singer/activists, from Leftover Crack’s Sturgeon singing “Kill cops” to David Peel leading choruses of “Die yuppie scum!” “Anyone who’s against the death penalty cannot be behind calling for death,” Romberger stated. “Throwing donuts and pies is O.K., funny, ha ha. But calling for death is anti-reasonable and uncivilized.” Speaking of throwing donuts, we hear that the harassment charge against Sturgeon for trying to pelt police with the pastries on Sept. 5 was dropped but that he was asked to perform 200 hours of community service, which he refused.

Previously Donut Social coverage on EV Grieve.

Finally! Some positive financial news for NYC!

Federal homeland security officials are giving $29.5 million to the New York Police Department to develop a system to prevent a radiological or nuclear attack on the city.

Oh.

Report: Cops interrogate Leftover Crack manager; defend using Taser during arrest

Lincoln Anderson reports in The Villager:

Following the arrest of Scott Sturgeon, 32, lead singer of the punk-rock band Leftover Crack, and four of his fans in the East Village last Friday evening, three men identifying themselves as Police Department Internal Affairs Bureau officers paid a surprise visit to Bill Cashman, the band’s manager, Monday afternoon. The three officers easily entered the building, on Avenue C near 10th St., since its front door had reportedly been left open due to ongoing construction inside.

Later in the article we hear from Deputy Inspector Dennis De Quatro, Ninth Precinct commanding officer, who defended the use of a Taser on one of the people arrested at Tompkins Square Park last Friday night.

The man was tased through his shirt on his upper torso for three seconds with the Taser being used in “touch-stun mode.” The deputy inspector noted that a Taser’s other mode is to shoot two electrically charged darts, which are attached to wires on the Taser, up to 20 or 30 feet. These darts puncture the person’s skin and leave wounds that could get infected, he said. The “touch-stun” technique — in which the Taser is manually pressed against the individual — is safer, especially at close range, he noted.

More EV Grieve Donut Social coverage here.

Headline of the day

I feel so much safer:

NYPD says fewer officers intentionally fired guns

On Avenue A (and an update from Neither More Nor Less on the fallout from the Donut Social)

I spotted the above on the side of the Con Ed substation on Avenue A yesterday afternoon. How long before this gets removed?

Meanwhile, Bob Arihood has an update of what happened Friday night after the Donut Social and the arrest of Leftöver Crack singer Scott Sturgeon. Part of Bob's report:

"Earlier the 9th precinct had decided to arrest Sturgeon for tossing donuts at them at the concert claiming that per the Penal Code such an action constituted harrasment of a police officer . They waited for an hour to arrest Sturgeon apparently because they felt that it would be easier and less risky than doing so at the concert with a crowd that might protest such an arrest .
Arresting Sturgeon-- charges were harrasment of a police officer , disorderly conduct and resisting arrest--in TSP was not so difficult , there was little resistance , but the unexpected consequences of the arrest were for a while somewhat chaotic .
After Sturgeons arrest some present decided to attempt to prevent the police RMP containing Sturgeon from leaving the park . Police cars were damaged ,broken mirrors etc . Bottles were thrown and trash recepticles were upset and emptied . People climbed on top of police cars with some standing or lying down in front of the police vehicles . For a few minutes the situation was quite eye-ball-to-eye-ball and nose-to-nose physical but police eventually gained control with minimal use of force . 3 additional arrests were made before the brief melee ended.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Friday night in Tompkins Square Park: Unity and a sitdown (and several arrests)
At the Donut Social

NYPD Daily Blotter item on Friday night's arrests

Here's a description of the arrests Friday night following the Donut Social. From the NYPD Daily Blotter in the Post today:

Five protesters were arrested Friday after clashing with police in the East Village following a rally against police brutality and gentrification.

Cops said the rally, on East Fifth Street near First Avenue down the block from the 9th Precinct station house, had ended peacefully at 8 p.m. when anger flared.

One man was busted for throwing objects at police.

The arrest sparked more violence from the crowd and led to the arrest of a man who allegedly threw a chair at cops.

Two protesters were arrested for damaging patrol cars, including an 18-year-old man.

A fifth person, an 18-year-old woman described by police as homeless, was arrested when she tried to interfere with police, laying down in the street and refusing to move, cops said.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Friday night in Tompkins Square Park: Unity and a sitdown (and several arrests)
At the Donut Social
Coverage at Neither More Nor Less

Friday night in Tompkins Square Park: Unity and a sitdown (and several arrests)

Details are sketchy. Here's what Mrs. Grieve saw (a little before 9). She was traveling solo at the time:

Cop cars racing down Avenue A. People hovering. Some kind of disturbance. Cops seemed over-anxious. A skinny kid picked up a chair and threatened to throw it. The cops said to put it down. He threw it anyway. Cops went ballistic. Chased after him. A crowd followed. A few minutes after, a sit down occured in front of a cop car. Lots of people gathered around in support and just watching. Cops stood emotionless as the crowd called for them to quit, commit suicide . . . and called them Nazis.





To be continued.

[Update: Bob Arihood has more details and photos at Neither More Nor Less. In short, he reports on his site: After the Donut Social, several protestors, including Leftover Crack singer Scott Sturgeon, traveled to Tompkins Square Park "to continue the music with a more intimate acoustic version of the donut concert. For some reason -- we did hear that the arrest may have had something to do with Sturgeon having hurled donuts at the cops earlier at the Donut Social -- police broke-up the gathering and arrested Sturgeon at 8:45 pm . Members of the gathering attempted to prevent the police cruiser carrying Sturgeon from leaving the park. The mini-riot that ensued resulted in 3 more individuals being arrested." ]

Reminder: Donuts and etc. tonight at 6

Here's an earlier version of the flier and social from several weeks ago. (Please note that the time and location have changed.)  This hung on the Ninth Street side of the Christodora for two whole days. (Surprised that it wasn't removed sooner than that....)

The Donut Social takes place at Fifth Street and First Avenue. Bob Arihood has more details at Neither More Nor Less.  The Donut Social also has its own MySpace page.