Police Face Irate Mob In Arresting Teen Accused Of Anti-Semitic Attack

The video below gives an insight into the challenges that police face on a daily basis after a mob formed quickly after the police arrested a man accused of threatening a Jewish man and hurling anti-Semitic slurs. Almost immediately, a group formed accusing the police of abuse and obstructing their lawful arrest. There is no sign of abusive police conduct in the video.

The arrested teen, Stephan Stowe, 17, reportedly approached the man wearing a yarmulke with eight friends and said “Assalamu Alaikum,” or “Peace be with you.” The man ignored the greeting and Stowe reportedly turned abusive and is quoted as saying “You think you’re better than me?” The teen says “We are cousins” but the man says that they are not and told him to leave him alone. That escalated the confrontation, particularly after the man took out his cell phone and took a photo of Stowe. Stowe snatched the phone and deleted the photo. He then reportedly said “I’m going to kill you right now” and “They should have killed all of you.” That would be enough for a lawful arrest if true.

The reaction of the crowd however shows the dangers faced by police. The officers had a viable criminal complaint and probable cause for an arrest on these facts. They are quickly surrounded however by a belligerent crowd. This leads to the arrest of Sheniqua Joseph, 22, who is charged with disorderly conduct during the incident. Joseph is accused of throwing a punch and kicking an officer during the melee.

While we often show videos that display police misconduct, this is a video that seems to support the officers — an interesting twist given the trend of cases where police arrest citizens for videotaping them in public.

Source: NY Daily