Local Politicians want harsher charges in anti-Israel protest assault at arena

October 20, 2014 By Matthew Taub Special to Brooklyn Daily Eagle from Brooklyn Brief

Councilman Mark Treyger. Photo courtesy Treyger’s office

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Local officials are pleased after the police announced the arrest of a suspect in an alleged anti-Semitic attack, but also concerned over the failure to charge the suspect with a hate crime.

The NYPD has charged 25-year-old Shawn Schraeder in the recent assault of Kings Bay Y Executive Director Leonard Petlakh outside Barclays Center following the Brooklyn Nets v. Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball game two weeks ago. Schraeder was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, and is now back in Brooklyn awaiting arraignment.

“I applaud the NYPD for recognizing the seriousness of this attack and for making a quick arrest, despite the fact that the suspect was halfway across the country,” said Councilmember Mark Treyger. “This sends a clear message that our city will not tolerate violence against anyone and will devote the necessary time and resources to investigating all incidents of hatred.”

However, despite the arrest, the NYPD has not charged Schrader with a hate crime because they no longer think bias was involved. Elected leaders have expressed skepticism of the decision.

“Given the anti-Semitic nature of this attack, I urge authorities to reconsider this decision,” said Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz. “I will be calling on the district attorney to treat this as a bias case and seek the harshest penalties that are allowed under the law.”

Cymbrowitz added that, according to multiple accounts of the incident, the suspect was part of a group of anti-Israel protestors whose intentions turned hateful and violent over the course of the evening. Treyger similarly believes that hate crimes charges are warranted based on remarks allegedly directed at the victim during the attack.

The arrest came after Treyger met with NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton this week to discuss steps being taken in light of the rise in hate crimes in recent months. Treyger has requested that the NYPD devote additional resources to fully investigate all hate crimes across the five boroughs.

“I would also like to thank Mr. Petlakh for his unwavering leadership and devotion to our community and for his hard work over the years to bring people of all faiths together,” Treyger added. “My thoughts are with him and his family as they continue to recover from this shocking and brutal attack. Once again, we showed that we will rise above these kinds of incidents that serve to divide our borough and city and will always come together to denounce all forms of violence and hatred.”