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AUDIO: '20 Jewish Men and 1 Black Kid,' 911 Caller Says of Shomrim Attack

By Gwynne Hogan | September 7, 2016 4:49pm
 Two 911 calls were played during the trial of Mayer Herskovic for the beating of Taj Patterson in 2013.
Two 911 calls were played during the trial of Mayer Herskovic for the beating of Taj Patterson in 2013.
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Courtesy of Sanford Rubenstein

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN —  Two drivers passing by a gang assault linked to Williamsburg's Shomrim Safety Patrol dialed 911 and described the hectic scene as it unfurled, recordings released in court Tuesday revealed.

"There's like a bunch of Jewish guys beating up a black kid," one 911 caller told an emergency dispatcher the night of Dec. 1, when Taj Patterson was beaten to a pulp in an attack that left him blind in one eye. 

"There was like 20 Jewish men and one black kid," the caller says. "He was begging for a ride."

"I didn't want to put him in my car," admits the caller, who passed Patterson by while alerting police. "They were telling us not to let him get in the car so we didn't want to get involved."

 Mayer Herskovic faces gang assault charges.
Mayer Herskovic faces gang assault charges.
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DNAinfo/Gwynne Hogan

Prosecutors presented Judge Danny Chun with two 911 calls as evidence against Mayer Herskovic in Brooklyn Supreme Court Tuesday. 

Herskovic, whose DNA was found on one of Patterson's sneakers following the beating, faces gang assault charges and could serve up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

Herskovic is last of the men to face charges in Patterson's 2013 beating.

Two other men — Pinchas Braver and Abraham Winkler pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment charges and have to do community service. Charges were dropped against another two men originally charged.

Patterson was jumped by the group of men as he walked to his Fort Greene home along Flushing Avenue in December of 2013 on his way back from a friend's birthday on a party bus, according to prosecutors. 

Last week Patterson gave his account of the beating in court, though he had trouble identifying Herskovic as one of his attackers.