In a recent turn of events, Councilmember Susan Zhuang, representing Bensonhurst and other Brooklyn neighborhoods, has expressed her eagerness to collaborate with the NYPD following the dismissal of charges against her for assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. The escalation occurred during a protest against a proposed homeless shelter, where Zhuang was accused last summer of biting an officer's forearm. However, through a restorative justice process, which both parties agreed to, these charges have been dropped, allowing the councilmember to move forward, Gothamist reports.
Amidst the confrontation with the police, Zhuang acted out in what she claimed was an attempt to protect an elderly protester but this attempt bit back as she found herself on the receiving end of a felony assault charge, the specifics of her confrontation detailed in both a video of the event and the evidence of a bite mark on a deputy police chief, according to a CBS News report.
The restorative justice program that extinguished the ember of Zhuang's legal situation was predicated on the readiness of the officer involved and Zhuang herself to engage in this alternative process, the Brooklyn DA's spokesperson, Oren Yaniv, explained, resulting in a case dismissal that will leave Zhuang's record unblemished by the incident.
In addition to this legal reprieve, the City Council's Standards and Ethics Committee, which had initiated an ethics investigation into Zhuang's actions at the protest, will continue its proceedings now unimpeded by ongoing criminal inquiries, a City Council spokesperson has indicated, adding a layer of municipal scrutiny to the councilmember's recent notoriety; Zhuang's attorney, however, has refrained from commenting further on the matter.
