Sharpton's group condemns detainment of councilman

The National Action Network is calling for disciplinary action against the officers who detained a City Council member and a city aide at the West Indian Day Parade.

In a statement Tuesday, the Rev. Al Sharpton’s group condemned the “forceful arrests” of Councilman Jumaane Williams and Kirsten John Foy, an aide to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who are both black. It says both men have worked for the group on issues related to police misconduct and racial profiling.

A Williams’ spokesman said the Brooklyn representative was stopped Monday as he walked along a blocked-off sidewalk after being given permission to walk there by a police official. He was then stopped by other officers and a confrontation ensued. No charges were filed.
The NYPD said Williams was detained while police verified his identity.

Williams and Foy spoke Tuesday outside City Hall.
 
They said they were accosted by officers while walking along a blocked-off sidewalk. Both men say they tried to show their city IDs to officers but their efforts were ignored.
 
Foy says an officer knocked him to the ground and pushed his face
into the grass.
 
Williams says he thinks it happened because he is a “35-year-old black man with dreadlocks.” No charges were filed. The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.