(NEW YORK CITY, NY, 2/2/2022) – The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today welcomed hate crime charges against an off-duty NYPD officer who reportedly assaulted a Muslim driver after going on an anti-Muslim and racist tirade.
On Monday, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that NYPD officer Riggs Kwong was arraigned on an indictment charging him with assault as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime and aggravated harassment.
The charges are in relation to an incident that occurred earlier this month, in which Kwong reportedly hurled anti-Muslim and racist slurs at a driver after being involved in a traffic incident. After yelling “terrorist,” “al Qaeda,” “Mohammed,” “ISIS,” and “F**k your God,” among other offensive things, Kwong reportedly assaulted the driver until he lost consciousness.
SEE: NYPD officer charged with hate crime in alleged anti-Muslim attack, prosecutor says
In a statement, CAIR-NY Legal Director Ahmed Mohamed said:
“We welcome hate crime charges against Mr. Kwong for this appalling and hateful attack. The rabid anti-Muslim bigotry allegedly displayed by Mr. Kwong raises serious concerns about all his interactions with Muslim suspects. The NYPD must conduct a thorough, in-depth investigation of all his past arrests of Muslim residents.”
Mohamed noted that CAIR-NY called for hate crime charges after the incident occurred.
CAIR-NY Calls on Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez to Add Hate Crime Charge for Off-Duty Cop’s Anti-Muslim Tirade, Assault on Driver
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CONTACT: Afaf Nasher, Esq. Executive Director, CAIR-NY, 917-669-4006, anasher@cair.com; Ahmed Mohamed, CAIR-NY Legal Director, 646-481-2103, ahmedmohamed@cair.com