Brooklyn, NY – The Boro Park Shomrim member shot in the neck on Sept. 2 as he and other volunteers of the organization stopped an armed suspect was released from the hospital just in time to spend Rosh Hashanah with his family.
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Motty Braunner is expected to recover fully, according to multiple sources.
Meanwhile, a Boro Park resident has told Hamodia that a week before the shooting, she called police after she and others witnessed the alleged triggerman acting in a lewd manner outside her 59th Street home. The insidious acts were committed in front of children — yet the NYPD has no record of a report.
Mrs. Faigie Friedman said she gave police descriptions of suspect David Flores and his car, and the car’s exact license number.
The call to police on Aug. 26 was placed by one of two Shomrim members who attempted to nab the suspect, Mrs. Friedman said. According to her, the two Shomrim members who chased the suspect then were among those who ended up getting shot in the Sept. 2 incident on 46th Street.
Dep. Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD’s top spokesman, was unavailable for comment yesterday. Another department spokesperson said no complaint report is on record for the Aug. 26 call.
In an interview with Hamodia yesterday, a distraught Shomrim member lamented that a violent perpetrator was allowed to slip away and commit serious crimes a week later. The neighborhood patrol volunteer corroborated Mrs. Friedman’s account.
In an email to Hamodia yesterday, the NYPD acknowledged that “officers from the 66th precinct responded to a 911 call to that location on August 26th. Police are investigating whether a report was made.”
In a phone interview with Hamodia yesterday, Boro Park Shomrim spokesman Simcha Bernath said he was unaware of any Shomrim run-in with Flores before the shooting on Sept. 2. However, he stated, he hasn’t yet debriefed the Shomrim members involved in the shooting incident or the organization’s dispatcher. If the police failed to file a report on Aug. 26, he said, he is confident that the precinct’s commander, Dep. Inspector John Sprague, will address the issue head-on. “He’s a straight shooter,” Mr. Bernath said.
Of the four Shomrim members who were hit by bullets, Joel Klein, who was struck in the stomach, remains hospitalized. He is in stable condition and expected to be released by the end of the week, according to Boro Park Shomrim coordinator Simcha Bernath.
Abe Kaztow and Motty Pearl were released from Lutheran Medical Center shortly after the attack. Kaztow was struck in the hand; Pearl was struck in the arm and shoulder.
The Sept. 2 melee occurred on 46th Street near 10th Avenue. A group of Shomrim patrol volunteers approached Flores, who was in a car, after reports that he had been prey ing on children. As they approached, Flores allegedly got out and opened fire. Accounts regarding how many times he shot range from six to 15.
Two previous encounters
Mrs. Friedman gave the following account. At about 3 p.m. on Aug. 25, Mrs. Friedman was on the porch of the three-family home where she resides. A dark gray car double-parked for 15 minutes in front of the house. The driver, who she says was Flores, then moved the car to a spot across the street for several minutes before speeding off. “An instinct told me write down his license plate number, and that’s what I did,” she told Hamodia.
The car returned to the same spot in front of her home 15 minutes later. Flores rolled down the passenger window, and stayed another 15 to 20 minutes.
Mrs. Friedman and another resident of the house became nervous about the situation because a bunch of children were playing in the vicinity. The other resident asked the driver if he was waiting for someone, and he said yes.
“We both didn’t like that answer. It sounded strange,” Mrs. Friedman said, adding that her position afforded a clear view of Flores’s face.
Again, the car left, and returned a third time about 15 minutes later.
Mrs. Friedman called Shomrim. When they showed up and blocked Flores in, he drove off.
The next afternoon, the same car doubleparked in front of the Friedman residence. Flores was wearing sunglasses this time.
Children playing nearby ran into the Friedman home. Mrs. Friedman called Shomrim while standing at a window watching Flores. At that point, she and her two teenaged daughters observed him commit indecent acts.
The same two Shomrim members responded to the scene and attempted to block the perpetrator’s car. Desperate to escape, Flores pulled onto the sidewalk and drove away. “There were a whole bunch of old people outside,” by a senior center on the corner, Mrs. Friedman said. “They were yelling hysterically” and he almost ran some of them over.
Shomrim pursued the car but couldn’t keep up. One of the volunteers shortly returned to the Friedman home and called 911.
Mrs. Friedman said she has a photo of the officer who respond ed and the marked police car.
She claims that an officer criticized her for calling Shomrim, because their presence alerts offenders that they’re being surveilled, yet they lack the same means to capture fleeing offenders.
Mrs. Friedman claims that police simply told her, “We know what we have to do.”
Day of the shooting
After the two incidents on Aug. 25 and 26, Mrs. Friedman told family members and neighbors about the suspect and his car, and passed on his license plate number.
On Sept. 2, about 7:15 p.m., Mrs. Friedman’s sister, who lives on 41st Street near Fort Hamilton Parkway, spotted the car and called Shomrim, who were already familiar with the suspect. Mrs. Friedman then called her other sister, who lives around the corner, and she soon saw the car, too. That sister called Shomrim and police.
Acting on the multiple tips, Shomrim caught up to the car about 20 minutes later. The confrontation and shooting followed.
Flores, 33, is charged with assault in the first, second and third degrees; criminal possession and use of a firearm; reckless endangerment; and menacing. The DA’s office said more charges related to indecent conduct could be filed soon.
Police said Flores lives in Harrisburg, Pa., but he is believed to reside locally. Flores has nine prior arrests. He pleaded guilty to indecent behavior in January.
In Mrs. Friedman’s view, police missed a chance to reel in a dangerous criminal on Aug. 26, a week before the shooting of the Shomrim volunteers.
“If they would have just circled Boro Park for a half hour,” she surmises, “they would have caught him.”
crime is down! or is it? who cares, just don’t file a report & the stats will go down!
And that is why crime is down in boro park. The police refuse to report it. As for the shomrim coordinator it sounds like he is protecting the police dept. The community needs to make a big deal of this and not let it get quiet.
Looks like Bernath is lying in order to protect the Police of the 66 Pct.
It is quite clear from earlier reports that the Shomrim said “we know the perp from an earlier incident” Mr Bernath, you will not do the community any good by covering up for the cops.
yeah good. the nypd will be more antisemetic now than ever b4
dont make trouble mistakes happen Mr bernath keep up the good work
to #’s 2 and 3:
Mr. Bernath happens to be doing what you don’t he is a volunteer and asken in many organizations if he is saying something it’s done for the klal if it sounds like he is protecting the cops then that’s what is good for the community. Shomrim works with the 66 on a daily basis and have a great relationship with each other. Being Simcha Bernath is not easy but you can be sure he is doing it letovas haklal.
# 3 you seem to know what’s good for the community. Well, maybe you take your evenings and nights and volunteer in organizations like Shomrim, Hatzoloh, Chesed Shel Emes, Misaskim etc…when you do as much as Mr. Bernath does you may have a right to criticize…
# 3 you seem to know what’s good for the community. Well, maybe you take your evenings and nights and volunteer in orgeniztions like Shomrim, Hatzoloh, Chesed Shel Emes, Misaskim etc…when you do as much as Mr. Bernath does you may have a right to criticize…
What is good for Bernath may not be good for the community. As a community we need the police to know that we are holding them accountable for their actions.
Being able to pull all the tickets in the world is not worth even one jewish life. As for a great relationship between 66 and BSSP, what exactly does that mean? If the officer didn’t make a report what good is the relationship? If officers in this community still openly speak against the jews, who needs a good relationship? I personally have heard many officers make fun of the shomrim. I have witnessed many times where an officer has told someone why did you call the shomrim you should have called us.
If everyone would follow the laws, we would have no need for a good relationship. Let us let the police know that we are watching them like a hawk, and the Shomrim will not protect them.
Now the Mayor can come and sell us that crime is down and that NYC is the safest city in the world.
Mr Mayor I need a good salesman in my business, do you wana help?
i think shomrim shouldstrike for 4 weeks and let 911 handle all our calls and then we will see if any one will still criticize the shomrim mesires nefesh…We dont deserve such a fine organizations(sorry talking to the people who complaint and to the people who never give a penny to Hatzolah and shomrim)…
One final point:
Let me make this clear, The NYPD does NOT respect the Shomrim! Not one bit.
As somebody who is in the know I can tell you the the cops mock the Shomrim at any chance given. They often refer to the shomrim as “the beards” or as “the bakery boys” The shomrim are like whooping boys to them.
Not to diminish the great work the shomrim is doing, but what right is right and what’s wrong..well you know.
Seems like Mrs. Friedman and her sisters have Boro Park covered. I vote for the Friedmans.
Imagine if a bearded guy would have been committing indecent acts in front of children, would the police have failed to file a report? Hell no, he would have been thrown to the dogs, but when a non heimisher does this, they couldn’t care less!
its about time that the shomrim protect themselves…get licensed guns and bullet proof vests…they have a responsibility to their families…
Bernath, in all his interviews, sounds like he’s working very hard to cover up for the 66th pct. crew. I understand he needs to maintain a good relationship but sometimes I wonder if he remembers whose interest he needs to be serving most.
Besides, over-convincing is not very convincing, we can read in between the lines (Hint: It’s not all so rosy, most of them don’t like us and particularly despise all the LELU stuff and shvitzery).
What is the matter with u guys. The police work for us the CITIZENS and taxpayers. Period! If they messed up they should be held accountable. The Shomrim are our neighborhoods volunteers not paid by anyone and they deserve the precints respect because they are the citizens too.
If the shomrim had messed up they would be castigated by the police and mayor so the same should be of the paid police to insure that they do their paid jobs responsibly!
It is no secret that police often do not file reports, and if they do file the reports they minimize the events. This happens all the time. The reason is almost certainly tied to the fact that the careers of their supervising officers are affected by “low stats.” These false stats enable Mayor Bloomberg to claim that NY City is the safest city in the nation.
Meanwhile, a sexual perpetrator is allowed to psychologically damage our precious children, perhaps for life.
Those who cover up for such police are not doing a favor to the community.
# 1 chaim, its called whipping boys. not whooping(that sounds like a cough) anyway, of course the police dont like the shomrim. except in the photo ops at yankee mayer’s office. it’s all political.Theyre might be some police brass that do like shomrim,but the regular foot cops they probably dont.
and can you blame em? as it says eisav sonei le yaakov. and dont you EVER forget that.
besides, the cops dont like competition,nor chassidishe people.
and i wonder why the shooter is only charged with 1st degree assault? it should be 1st degree attempted murder. just like when someone shoots a police officer. or the crazy guy who stabbed the paki taxi driver last week in nyc. he was charged with attempted murder.
gee, i wonder why the disparity? hmmm, figure it out for yourselves.
ya know, this job of playing police is not for chassidishe guys. dont be a hero,the police sure arent. theyre fully equipped,badges,guns,vests,mace, etc. you cant play cowboy,unless you have the right equipment and training.
of course, the boys are doing an excellent job,and a great mitzvah. but this is not hatzolah or the other kind of organizations,where there is little chance of getting hurt. cont’d
2 shootings in 2 weeks,hey, thats serious stuff. these perps are not playing. thank g-d he had bad aim. i shudder to think if he would have succeded, gd forbid. its time to think this thing over. you can never know who you jump. even the cops dont do that. and they usually call half of the nypd to take down 1 guy.
can someone post the offenders license plate #?
Bash the cops all you want but then don’t expect them to answer your calls in a timely manner when they have plenty of other calls to answer. If you don’t like how NYPD is run complain to your politicians and complain to the people who run it- the commissioner, the chiefs the ones who set the policy. The street cops are just following orders. They aren’t perfect but they are risking their lives day in and day out and get shot and shot at as well on a regular basis.