Police Accuse Teen Of Stealing Israeli Flag At Clarkstown Town Hall

NEW CITY, NY — A 15-year old boy is accused of stealing an Israeli flag from the flagpole at Clarkstown Town Hall Thursday.

Police were called at 12:15 p.m. by a witness who said a male in dark clothing ripped the flag down and ran toward Route 304.

Officers said they located someone on Congers Road, just east of Route 304, who was attempting to remove his sweatshirt and conceal the flag as they stopped to question him.

He was placed under arrest and transported to Clarkstown Police headquarters where he was processed. As he is 15, police said, the case is being handled by the Juvenile Aid Bureau, a specialized unit in the department's detective bureau. No other information about him was released.

"The Clarkstown Police Department is continuing to investigate all aspects of this crime,
including but not limited to the possibility of this being a hate crime," said public information officer Detective Norman Peters.

It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is
presumed innocent until proven guilty.