Muslim NYPD Officer Aml El Sokary, Targeted for Headscarf: 'I'm Here to Protect You'

BROOKLYN, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that this weekend's hate-filled verbal attack against Muslim NYPD officer Aml El Sokary is "unacceptable in this city [and] unacceptable in this nation."

"I became a police officer to show the positive side of a Muslim woman who can do this job," the New York-born El Sokary said at a Monday NYPD briefing on city crime statistics. "I help everybody, no matter what's your religion. I'm born and raised here, and I'm here to protect you. And I know my department and my city's here to protect me."

See also: Another Muslim Woman Attacked in NYC Subway As City Hate Crimes Spike 35%

According to the NYPD, on Saturday, El Sokary, a transit officer in Williamsburg who covers her head with a scarf known as a hijab, was dropping her 16-year-old son off in Bay Ridge when a man started shoving him.

When El Sokary intervened, the New York Daily News reported, the man called her an "ISIS (expletive)," and said, "I will cut your throat, go back to your country!”

Brooklyn resident Christopher Nelson was later arrested for the crime and charged with Menacing in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, which is a felony, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. Nelson was ordered held on $50,000 bail.

“This defendant allegedly subjected the victim and her son to deplorable and ugly acts of hate, including threats of violence, simply because they are Muslim," said acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez in a Monday statement. "Biased-motivated crimes will not be tolerated anywhere in Brooklyn and those who commit hate crimes will be held accountable for their reprehensible and offensive actions."

Speaking at Monday's police briefing alongside El Sokary, de Blasio said, "There are 900 Muslim-Americans serving the people of New York City on our police force who every day put their lives on the line for all of us."

"I was sick to my stomach when I heard that one of our officers was subjected to threats and taunting simply because of her faith," de Blasio said. "She is an example of everything we would want from our fellow citizens, a commitment to others, a commitment to service. And what does she get for it? Threats to her life, bigotry and taunts. We can't allow this. It's unacceptable in this city, it's unacceptable in this nation."

NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said he first met El Sokary two years ago while she was being treated for smoke inhalation after saving an infant and the baby's grandmother from a burning building in Williamsburg.

"I'd just like to thank you for everything you do every day and for keeping the people in this great city safe," O'Neill said. "If anybody's thinking in New York City about engaging in this type of behavior, just rest assured that you will be identified and you will be arrested and you will be charged accordingly."

El Sokary isn't the only Muslim New Yorker who has faced harassment in recent days. Last Wednesday, an 18-year-old woman waiting for the 6 train at the 23rd Street station was assaulted by three white men in their 20s, according to the NYPD.

The men reportedly shouted "Donald Trump!," told the woman to "Go back to your country" and tried to rip off her hijab, police said, breaking a strap on her bag in the process.

Then, on Monday morning, a uniformed MTA employee, also wearing a hijab, was injured when a man calling her a "terrorist" allegedly pushed her down a flight of stairs at Grand Central Terminal.

Both those cases are still under investigation, and no arrests have been made.

Pictured at top: Officer Aml El Sokary, left, with NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill. Image via Mayor's Office.