Manhattan DA Won't Prosecute Social Distancing Arrests

MANHATTAN, NY — Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance will not prosecute arrests for violating social distancing orders put in place during New York's new coronavirus outbreaks, the DA's office recently announced.

In addition to declining to prosecute social distancing arrests, Vance's office will take a hard look at charges stemming from arrests where the state's emergency orders "served as a predicate" for individuals being stopped by police, a spokesperson for the DA's office said. The DA's office has not been sent a case for social distancing, but is aware of six cases where social distancing enforcement may have led to other criminal charges.

Of those six cases, the Manhattan District Attorney has declined to prosecute four, a spokesman for the DA's office said. The DA's office dropped charges against three people who were violently arrested in the East Village after police approached them for alleged social distancing violations. Video of the arrests showed officers threatening people with tasers, punching them and throwing them against walls.

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NYPD data released last week shows that 80% of social distancing summons handed out by police during the coronavirus crisis have gone to black and brown New Yorkers. Out of 374 summons issued between March 16 and May 5, 193 went to Black New Yorkers and 111 to Hispanic New Yorkers, according to the data.

Brookyln District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, who is also declining to prosecute social distancing cases, revealed that of 40 people arrested in the borough for social distancing 35 were Black, four were Hispanic and only 1 was white.

Prosecutors aren't the only law enforcement officials taking a stand against social distancing arrests. Police union heads have also spoken out against cuffing social distancing violators because it puts cops in difficult situations.

Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch issued a statement in early May saying: "The NYPD needs to get cops out of the social distancing enforcement business altogether."

Mayor Bill de Blasio denied social distancing enforcement is a return to the racially-fraught days of "stop-and-frisk," and, when asked to comment by reporters Friday, told them, "check my Twitter feed." The mayor also argued that the NYPD data is too small to reveal trends in enforcement.

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