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De Blasio Aide, Councilman Detained at Brooklyn Parade

By Mathew Katz | September 5, 2011 4:58pm | Updated on September 6, 2011 8:44am
Police arrested an aide to Bill de Blasio, shown here at a press conference.
Police arrested an aide to Bill de Blasio, shown here at a press conference.
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Getty Images/Jemal Countess

By Mathew Katz and Olivia Scheck

DNAinfo Reporter/Producers

MANHATTAN —An aide to New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and a Brooklyn councilman were handcuffed and detained while attempting to leave the borough's West Indian Day Parade on Monday, police confirmed.

Kirsten J.Foy and City Councilman Jumaane Williams, who represents several neighborhoods in Brooklyn, were on their way to a post-parade event at the Brooklyn Museum when the incident occurred, according to a statement by de Blasio.

Police said the men had been attempting to access a street that was closed to pedestrians when a fracas broke out.

"Before their identities were established, Council Member Williams and Mr. Foy were stopped from entering a frozen zone near the Brooklyn Museum," the NYPD said in a statement. "A crowd formed and an unknown individual punched a police captain on the scene."

De Blasio said that the men had been arrested, however the NYPD statement said they were only detained and then released once their identities were established.

Foy is de Blasio's director of community affairs.

In a statement posted to his website, de Blasio questioned the officers' handling of the situation.

"I am very concerned that the officers escalated this situation needlessly, even as two public servants were trying to show identification," de Blasio said.

"I am calling for an investigation to get to the bottom of any police misconduct that occurred.”

A video released by the Public Advocate's office to the New York Times showed Foy being thrown to the ground and handcuffed by police.