The new deputy inspector of the 71st precinct, George Fitzgibbon, addresses his community for the first time at the precinct’s monthly community council meeting on Thursday. Photo: Renny Grinshpan
Deputy Inspector George Fitzgibbon, appointed to that post in the 71st precinct just three weeks ago, spoke to his Crown Heights community for the first time at the precinct’s monthly community council meeting this week. Fitzgibbon addressed a crime pattern in the community that has surfaced over the past few weeks and gathered a lot of attention. Since October 11, eight incidents have taken place in Crown Heights that are being investigated as hate crimes against Jewish people.
Three are graffiti-related but the other five put their victims at physical risk. At least two are reportedly a part of an apparent trend among young people known as the “knockout game,” in which perpetrators attempt to knock their victims unconscious with a punch to the head.
Fitzgibbon outlined the precinct’s response: increased patrol north of Empire Blvd. between Nostrand and Schenectady Avenues, where the “possible bias incidents,” as the deputy inspector called them, are predominantly occurring. “That’s the part of the community right now that’s on fire,” Fitzgibbon said. “And it needs to be stomped and put out.”
Officer Richard Silverstein, another spokesman for the precinct, said a mounted horseback unit, for high visibility, is also being added. The precinct is instructing the owners of buildings in the area with broken surveillance cameras to fix them. In addition, the 71st precinct is sending out email blasts with crime prevention tips to people in the community who are on its listserve.
Finally, the precinct is delivering talks to area public schools on bullying and cultural awareness in an attempt to “get the word out” about the incidents and prevent more crime, according to Officer Silverstein. Silverstein, who gave one of these talks at Clara Barton High School last Wednesday morning with his partner, Officer Larry Taylor, explained that the police are only visiting public schools because of the physical descriptions of the recent suspects. Images of four suspects of a Nov. 10 “knockout” crime—in which one of a group of eight men punched a 19-year-old Hasidic male in the face as they passed each other on Kingston Ave—indicate that the perpetrators were black and in their late teens or early twenties.
The talks began about two weeks ago, so their efficacy has yet to be measured. The Brooklyn Ink observed the one Officer Silverstein and Officer Taylor gave at Clara Barton last week in A Swing at the “Knockout Game,” a talk that seemed to veer between two messages: work with the police to protect yourself, or be afraid of them. “If you see something, say something” became the motto of the day, which was repeatedly flanked by warnings against bullying. Officer Taylor ensured the students, for example, that if they’re bullying on any platform, including cyberspace, they’re “going down for a crime” because there are “no secret phone calls the government is not monitoring.” The students were talkative throughout.
Matthew Meyerson, an Assistant Principal at Clara Barton in charge of Supervision, Health and Physical Education, and Safety, said that despite the raucous reception, students walked away from the talk with the idea that telling an officer about misconduct isn’t always a bad thing.
Rabbi Bentzion Stock, Director of Associated Beth Rivkah Schools in Crown Heights, says he is also pleased with the police response to the incidents in his neighborhood. Sheindel Tiechtel, Beth Rivkah’s high school principal, indicated that the school’s staff has instructed students to walk in groups.
Leave a Reply