Brooklyn couple sues Hasidic volunteer police after they were beaten on the street for alleged anti-Semitism

A Brooklyn couple claims they were attacked and falsely accused of anti-Semitic remarks by a Hasidic volunteer security patrol. And all because of the remark about wearing masks in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. New York Daily News.

Paulo and Clelia Piño allege in the lawsuit that on May 10, 2020, members of the Williamsburg Hasidic Security Patrol (also known as Shomrim) attacked and beat them. They broke Clelia's arm and then allegedly lied to police claiming the couple were anti-Semites who accused Jews of spreading COVID-19.

At the time, members of the Hasidic community were protesting the requirement to wear masks set by then-government Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

As a result, the couple was cleared of charges of threatening and insulting Jews. This happened more than a year after the attack, on September 30, 2021. But before that, Paulo and Clelia Piño lost their jobs, were vilified by Mayor de Blasio and the press, and received a lot of threats for their alleged anti-Semitism.

“They were two hardworking people trying to get through the pandemic,” said Piño family lawyer Kenneth Belkin. “The security patrol acted like a militia. They attacked them and then lied about what happened.”

Another victim

The case of the Piño family is similar to that of Taj Patterson. He was beaten and partially blinded in a confrontation with Shomrim in 2013 in Brooklyn. On September 19, 2022, a judge awarded Patterson $4,5 million in damages.

The Security Patrol admitted in the Patterson case that it did not have litigation insurance. Belkin said he was recently informed by the group's lawyer that the organization still did not have liability insurance. This is a clear violation of city rules requiring the organization to be insured as a recipient of city funding.

Megan Muyo, a lawyer representing the Security Patrol, did not respond to emails seeking comment. In court documents, the Security Patrol denies the allegations by the Piño family.

“The plaintiffs were arrested by the NYPD for shouting anti-Semitic slurs at members of the Hasidic community. Therefore, the NYPD had a probable reason for arresting the plaintiffs,” Muoyo wrote.

A spokesman for the Brooklyn prosecutor's office confirmed that the couple's charges had been dropped, but declined to comment further.

Piño was driving home to Jackson Heights, Queens after work on May 10, 2020, when they were confronted by a group of unmasked Hasidic men on Bedford Avenue and Ross Street in Williamsburg, their lawsuit says. Paulo Piño started recording them on his cell phone. He repeatedly asked the crowd members why they were not wearing masks.

Within a few minutes, four SUVs with flashing headlights drove up. Ten men stepped out of them, including some in Shomrim jackets, the lawsuit says. They surrounded Piño and demanded that he leave.

Pino refused. The men started pushing him and one of them knocked the phone out of his hands. He stumbled and fell to the ground, where several men sat on him and called the police.

“I called for help. I said I couldn't breathe, Piño said in an interview. “They stepped on my hands and ankles. They took my glasses and mobile phone. They had no reason to detain me.”

Clelia Pigno came to the aid of her husband. She begged to be released and tried to get to him. But one man grabbed her or hit her. Medical records show that she suffered a fracture in her left forearm.

When the police arrived on the scene, Shomrim claimed that Piño provoked the clash and made anti-Semitic remarks.

Two witnesses, Elkonoch Grünhut and Hillel Cohen, later testified that Paulo said: "The mayor said that we were all sick because of the Jews," court records show. A third witness, Moshe Rosenbaum, allegedly quoted Paulo as saying, "That's why we're all sick."

Paulo, however, said during interrogation that he did not say that. “I didn't say anything about the mayor or the Jews. I just said, "You guys don't wear masks, and people are dying out there."

Paulo's words were ignored and he was arrested. Clelia was taken to Woodhull Hospital to be treated for her broken arm.

The NYPD filed a hate crime case against them. Following this, Mayor de Blasio publicly vilified Piña during a May 11 speech. He called their actions "absolutely unacceptable in every respect."

“Two criminals were arrested by the NYPD. And we are treating this incident as a hate crime, so the consequences will be severe,” de Blasio said the next day.

On the subject: Anti-Semitic leaflets are scattered in different parts of New York: locals are furious

Pinho believes that de Blasio used the incident to build good relations with the Hasidic community after criticizing it for refusing to wear masks.

“He didn't know anything about what happened. I didn't know we were actually victims,” Paulo said. - said stupid things, trying to protect himself.

The Piño family tried to cross-complaint Shomrim for assault, but the NYPD never took it.