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| PHOTO: Robert Stridiron/Robert Stridiron Police officers in riot gear guard 113th Precinct from protesters. |
By Joseph Stepansky AND Kerry Burke / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, April 6, 2013, 1:48 AM
A drug bust outside a Queens housing project erupted into a tense three-hour standoff Friday night as dozens of angry residents marched on the 113th Precinct and cops in riot gear stood guard over their stationhouse.
Shocked witnesses said police officers pounded on brothers Raynard Fields, 27, and Corey Crichlow, 33, outside the Baisley Park Houses during the 7:45 p.m. arrest on Foch Blvd.
“The cops came up to the car and dragged (Crichlow) out and started beating on him,” said witness Gary Frazier, 22. “When (Fields) tried to calm the situation down, they beat him down. Cops came from everywhere.”
About 50 incensed residents protested the arrest and what they call a pattern of brutality by the NYPD by marching down Guy R. Brewer Blvd. to the Baisley Blvd. stationhouse. They ran through the streets, knocking garbage cans over during their 6-block trek, witnesses said.
“I am sick of the 113th Precinct harassing the young black men in the Baisley projects,” said marcher Kathy Moore, 40.
Cops responded to the impromptu protest in riot helmets and batons, forcing protesters onto the sidewalk.
“They were wilding out here,” livery cab driver Danny McLennon, 42, said of the residents. “The cops shut down Guy Brewer Blvd. Not even the buses could get through.”
More cops in riot gear met protesters at the 113th Precinct, where Fields was being treated inside an ambulance parked next to the stationhouse. Sources said he suffered a deep gash to his face during the brawl. He was expected to be taken to a hospital, a relative said.
Police sources said officers spotted Crichlow with drugs, but he swallowed them as they approached. The officers were arresting Crichlow when Fields interjected and a fight broke out, sources said.
At least one officer was injured in the fight and was taken to an area hospital with neck and back injuries. Other cops had to evade a barrage of garbage and bottles that witnesses were throwing at them.
“(Residents) were throwing things from windows,” a police source said.
According to court records, Crichlow did two years in prison after being convicted on drug charges in 2001. He’s currently engaged to a correction officer, family members said.
But the Rev. Richard Hogan, the respected pastor of the Divine Deliverance Ministry in Jamaica and the uncle of Crichlow and Fields, said Crichlow is always being stopped by the police.
“My nephew was driving a gray Chrysler with tinted windows when he was stopped on this occasion,” said Hogan. “(Cops) said they thought they saw him make a transaction. They didn’t find anything on him. <a href=" http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/standoff-cops-riot-gear-queens-residents-article-1.1309412?localLinksEnabled=false"> READ MORE </a>
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