PARK SLOPE — Local high schools are planning a forum where students will discuss their sometimes rocky relationship with police in the wake of an incident in which a witness said the NYPD shooed black teens out of the neighborhood.
The news came as police released new details about fights that occurred nearby before the incident, although it was not clear if the kids who were shooed away were connected to the arguments.
The town hall meeting will be held Friday Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria at the John Jay Educational Campus on Seventh Avenue, a few blocks from where a resident saw police in patrol cars trailing a group of black teens, telling them over a loudspeaker to "get out of the neighborhood."
Police said Monday that the Sept. 22 incident happened after officers responded to two 911 calls about disorderly groups nearby.
The first call was made at 2:25 p.m. about a group at Seventh Avenue and Eighth Street. The second call, at 2:49 p.m., was about a fight inside a restaurant on Seventh Avenue near Eighth Street, said Capt. Frank DiGiacomo, commanding officer of the 78th Precinct.
"They had 50 students fighting and screaming outside," DiGiacomo said.
No arrests were made and no summonses were issued in connection with the fight, police said.
At 2:45 p.m., witness Sara Bennett said she saw two patrol cars following a group of about five black teenagers on Ninth Street and Seventh Avenue, telling them over a loudspeaker, "Get out of the neighborhood." DiGiacomo said officers could have stayed in the area after the 911 calls to make sure more violence didn't erupt.
But it was not clear if the teens were involved in the fights.
Bennett's account, first reported by DNAinfo, hit home with students at John Jay Educational Campus, many of whom live outside Park Slope.
"Most [Park Slope Collegiate] students will tell you that they are not surprised by this recent story, and yesterday and today they have voiced their anger about similar incidents that they have experienced and heard about," wrote the Park Slope Collegiate PTA in a letter sent home to families on Friday afternoon.
Park Slope Collegiate is one of four schools inside the John Jay Campus. Principals from all four schools met to discuss the Sept. 22 incident, and Friday's forum is co-sponsored by all four schools. "The questions they will ask each other may include: Why did this happen? What does it say about the world we live in? What can we do about it?" the Park Slope Collegiate PTA said in its letter home.
DiGiacomo said police would attend the forum if they're invited.
Annette Renaud, PTA president at the Secondary School for Journalism in the John Jay building, said she frequently sees students cursing, fighting and being rowdy around dismissal time, and she's fine with police intervening in those cases.
"I have heard [police saying] several times, ‘Come on, keep it moving,’ and I’ve been on board with that,” Renaud said.
But Renaud said the report of police telling students walking down the street to "get out of the neighborhood" crossed a line for her. "If the allegation is accurate, that's horrible," Renaud said.
