BIKE STOLEN, AND POLICE LET BURGLARS GET AWAY!

Thursday, July 17, 2008, 2:30am: A few Crown Heights residents sitting on their porch on Brooklyn Avenue between East New York Avenue and Maple Street noticed three African American youths climbing over a fence and removing a bicycle from the yard. The witnesses, Hasidic Jew didn’t hesitate and were quick to help their African American neighbors who had been burglarized and followed the three perpetrators to Nostrand Avenue and Sterling Street where the perpetrators stopped temporarily. The witnesses flagged down a NYPD patrol car and told them what they had seen, at that point the Officers told the witnesses “OK… you can go now” but the witnesses were unsure of the Officers’ sincerity to help so they came back around the block and not to their surprise, the perpetrators were still there but the NYPD car had left. The witnesses were persistent and flagged down yet another NYPD patrol car and called Shmira. The Officers in the patrol car said they would come around the block however they would not be able to do anything without the owner of the bike being present.

Shmira members responded and one group went to the complainant’s house while other members began heading over to where the perpetrators were last spotted. Shmira members arrived at the complainant’s house, knocked on the window and notified the owner about the burglary that had transpired on his property. When Shmira members arrived at Nostrand Avenue and Sterling Street no one was there, neither the Police nor the perpetrators. Shmira members began canvassing the area in search of the bike and the members that were with the complainant advised him to call 911. One of the NYPD patrol cars that was previously flagged down responded to the call and the Officers filed a report and got a description of the perpetrators from the witnesses. The Officers stated that they had indeed circled the block however no one was there when they came back around. Shmira members continued to canvass the area for over an hour but unfortunately had no luck in locating the bike or the perpetrators.

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