Whatever the outcome of the mayoral election, the socialist Left is fighting hard to put in pro-crimers in the DA’s office. The situation was bad to begin with and it can only get worse. These numbers that show that Black Lives Matter looting went unpunished won’t surprise you, but they’re still worth seeing for the very different treatment of the participants in the Capitol Hill riot and the BLM riots across America.
There was a free pass to riot and loot. And there’s every indictator that the free pass is still active.
One year ago, parts of New York City felt out of control as crowds of looters were seen smashing storefront after storefront.
The mayhem continued night after night from late May into June. At one point, there was even a so-called “looting dance party” on the streets of SoHo.
The mobs seemingly pillaged at will. Many were caught on tape, some with their faces visible. Others even posted on social their own videos of their actions those nights.
“We got the Rolex store,” some in the crowd can be heard screaming in one video.
… for George Floyd. And social justice.
NYPD data reviewed by the NBC New York I-Team shows 118 arrests were made in the Bronx during the worst of the looting in early June.
Since then, the NYPD says the Bronx DA and the courts have dismissed most of those cases – 73 in all. Eighteen cases remain open and there have been 19 convictions for mostly lesser counts like trespassing, counts which carry no jail time.
In Manhattan, the NYPD data shows there were 485 arrests. Of those cases, 222 were later dropped and 73 seeing convictions for lesser counts like trespassing, which carries no jail time. Another 40 cases involved juveniles and were sent to family court; 128 cases remain open.
Bronx DA Darcell Clark declined repeated requests for an interview, as did Manhattan DA Cy Vance, whose office has been busy with a team of prosecutors investigating separate allegations of tax fraud surrounding President Trump’s businesses – allegations Trump denies.
Vance, currently on his way out, was one of the worst actors in enabling the pillaging of Manhattan.
Vance told his office, “For many of these commercial burglaries, you will be asked to reduce the initial felony charge to a misdemeanor and to dispose of the case … with an eye towards rehabilitation.”
He also stressed the “continued goal to achieve consistency and equitable treatment in these cases.”
Equity is just another way of saying politics.
The NYPD did set up a task force after the riots to examine videos and photos to separate suspected rioters from peaceful protesters. That work shares similarities with what the FBI is doing in making hundreds of arrests after the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
But unlike federal prosecutors who are moving forward with prosecutions of the Capitol Hill rioters, New York City prosecutors are disposing of most burglary-related cases.
The real victims of this, especially in the Bronx, are often small business people.
Jessica Betancourt owns an eyeglass shop that was looted and destroyed along Burnside Avenue in the Bronx last June.
“Those numbers, to be honest with you, is disgusting,” Betancourt said when told of the few cases being prosecuted.
Betancourt is also vice president of a local merchants association. She says local business leaders are upset few are being held accountable for the destruction they caused.
“I was in total shock that everything is being brushed off to the side.”
Jessica Betancourt was very visible after the rioting. She’s African-American and has been very vocal, standing up for the NYPD, and condemning the looters.
Betancourt said the last 48 hours have been devastating. “It’s devastating to see what you’ve worked so hard for be destroyed in just minutes.”
Looters took all the merchandise, including glasses. Some equipment used for their business’ eye exams were destroyed.
She said her family felt “hurtful, sad, angry, but we keep strong.”
Now the looters are getting away with it thanks to a pro-crime Democrat establishment.
In the Bronx, some businesses that had insurance are back. But the scars from the riots of a year ago remain.
“They could do it again because they know they won’t get the right punishment,” Betancourt said.
They can. And when BLM and its backers need more rioting, they will.
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