Twitter user Sofia Newman captured the moment NYPD officers brought to justice this dangerous criminal mastermind selling delicious cinnamon-flavored fried dough without a license to hungry commuters inside the NYC subway:
Tonight as I was leaving Broadway Junction, I saw three or four police officers (one of them was either a plainclothes cop or someone who worked at the station) gathered around a crying woman and her churro cart. Apparently, it's illegal to sell food inside train stations. 1/? pic.twitter.com/sgQVvSHUik
— Sofia B. Newman (@SofiaBNewman) November 9, 2019
Rest easy, New York. Mayor Bill de Blasio has the cops enforcing all the really important laws:
She kept trying to speak to one of the cops in Spanish, but the plainclothes cop kept rolling his eyes and saying things like, "Are you done?" and "I know you can speak English." Eventually, they cuffed her and unceremoniously dragged her and her cart away. 3/? pic.twitter.com/qVIfN7DO7u
— Sofia B. Newman (@SofiaBNewman) November 9, 2019
According to Gothamist, this elderly woman is a repeat offender and had her churro cart seized as evidence:
In a statement, NYPD Detective Sophia Mason said that the vendor “was instructed in English and Spanish that she would be issued a summons and her property taken as evidence in accordance with procedure.”
The NYPD went on to say they received “numerous complaints” about this dangerous woman in the past. So, they would have no issue releasing all of these complaints? You know, in the interest of transparency:
“She refused to cooperate and was briefly handcuffed; officers escorted her into the command where she was uncuffed. Her property was vouchered as arrest evidence and she was released within minutes,” Mason said. “This individual has been issued ten summonses in the last five months for unlicensed vending at the same station. The Command has received numerous complaints regarding unlicensed vendors at Broadway Junction due to health concerns and individuals interfering with pedestrian flow.”
Unfortunately for the NYPD, they arrested this woman in front of the wrong New Yorker. Ms. Newman is now working with an attorney to get more information on the arrest (FOIL = Freedom of Information Law):
Another update: @gideonoliver, a lawyer who does a lot of FOIL work vs. the NYPD, is representing me in filing a FOIL request online. It won't be processed until Monday, but I'm hopeful that the incident report will be released soon.
— Sofia B. Newman (@SofiaBNewman) November 9, 2019
Some updates:
UPDATE: The woman from the video has been released and given a civil summons. We have a lot more work to do, but she's safe.
— Sofia B. Newman (@SofiaBNewman) November 9, 2019
The FOIL has been filed! The goal at this point is to be able to provide this woman with resources, e.g. getting her property back and paying whatever fines she may have. The moment we get more info about how to help her, I will let you all know.
— Sofia B. Newman (@SofiaBNewman) November 10, 2019
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