Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) is asking District Attorney Charles Hynes to immediately drop all charges against Ehud Halevi, the man beaten by two NYPD officers after being found sleeping in a Crown Heights youth center.

“Halevi has been through enough,” said the Assemblyman. “A brutal beating, four days in prison and the knowledge that this incident has caused his parents terrible pain and fear–that’s more than enough for any man who is clearly innocent of the serious charges that were brought against him.

“A surveillance video makes it clear that Halevi did not assault a police officer,” said the Assemblyman. “The people in charge of the youth center make it clear that Halevi was not trespassing. Why go through the ordeal of having charges hanging over his need? The police officer who brutally beat this young man, who does not appear to even defend himself, has been placed on modified assignment. The District Attorney’s office has moved quickly and diligently. Now it’s time to do the next right thing and drop all charges against this young man.”

After being contacted by leaders of the Crown Heights community regarding Halevi’s beating and incarceration, Assemblyman Hikind led a number of elected officials in a public condemnation of the police brutality and a demand for an investigation into the incident. On Monday, Hikind was joined in a public condemnation of the NYPD officers’ actions in Crown Heights by NYS Senator Eric Adams, Assemblyman Karim Camara, NYC Public Advocate Bill deBlasio, NYC Comptroller John Liu, Councilwoman Letitia James, as well as Crown Heights community leaders Barry Sugar (president of the Crown Heights Jewish Leadership Council) and Chanina Sperlin.

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