Brooklyn, NY – A Flatbush father of four who was walking home from Shul this past Friday night received a summons for obstructing traffic as he stood on the yellow lines in the middle of Kings Highway at East 15th Street.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
27 year old Sholom Emert was walking home from Bais Horah on Avenue M and East 12th Street when he started crossing Kings Highway as the Don’t Walk sign began to flash. Emert got stuck in the middle of the intersection and was standing on the yellow lines when a police officer from Brooklyn’s 61st precinct approached him and asked him to provide identification.
Emert claims that he explained that as a Sabbath observer he was unable to carry anything on Shabbos but suggested instead that the officer accompany him to his half a block away where he would provide proper identification. The officer told Emert that if he could not provide proper identification, he would have to write down his name, address and date of birth. Again, Emert tried to explain that he could not do so without desecrating his Sabbath but the officer insisted that Emert had only two choices: writing down his name and address or be placed under arrest.
After ten minutes of trying to explain to the police officer why he could not comply with his request Emert claims he finally relented, writing down the requested information with a shinuy, concerned that he would be forced to spend Shabbos in jail. Emert was issued a summons for obstructing traffic and has a date to appear in court on February 10th at 9:30 AM.
After Shabbos Emert says he contacted both his Rov which he declined to name, and numerous Flatbush askanim to help him deal with the blatantly unfair treatment he received at the hands of the NYPD.
In an exclusive interview Emert told VIN News, “I couldn’t believe that I was standing out there in the cold for at least ten minutes, arguing with a police officer who was going to arrest me for being unable to provide identification or write down my name.”
VIN News contacted the 61st precinct to verify the account of the story, and Brooklyn south Police Chief Joesph Fox both of whom were unavailable for comment.
I would have had myself arrested than do a chillel shabbos.
Every now and then there will be an anti-semite cop. But when they do come out of their hole, its blatant.
There’s something odd about this story. If he stepped into the intersection as the Don’t Walk began to flash he 1) had time to cross quickly (albeit unwise) or 2) could have/should have stepped back up on the curb to wait. While I am no witness in this case, I certainly have seen way too many of us crossing streets while the Don’t Walk is flashing or even worse, crossing against red lights while the goyim watch us scamper to and from shul in our Shabbos best. On the other hand, the local police need cultural sensitivity training.
This is case of absolute Bias and Anti-semitism. The officers involved should be terminated asap. We as acommunity are supposed to take drastic steps, immediately to show our protest to the above matter. Any thing less than a ver y strong protest will be sign of a ver weak community that can be treated in an inferior way than members of other communities. Loi Samoid all Daam Rai’aecha.
What a Chilul Hashem. He should have gotton himself arrested. Now the whole world knows that a frum yid was mechalel shabbos.
So he has a religious right to jaywalk? Is that his claim? Maybe the officer was trying to save him from being killed. Why is everything anti-semitic here?
And if they stopped an Arab and he refused to give identification, we’d be applauding the cop.
There’s no double standard.
Follow the rules.
He forced you to violate the sabbath, a violation of your civil rights. You should sue in federal court. Not a bad case although the only damages are emotional which are hard to prove
I would think that cops in Flatbush would know something about Shabbos observance, and I think it was a terrible thing that caused this unfortunate young Yid to have to write on Shabbos even with a shinui. Don’t people realize what’s going on in this country – we are losing our freedoms and becoming more and more restricted in our ordinary lives. It’s becoming like Nazi Germany, slowly, slowly, until it’s too late.
What is going on here in this country? One cannot cross a street without having to show identification? Things are getting crazier and crazier.
Why is it called obstructing traffic when you are waiting for the light in the middle of an intersection? I hope the cop gets the book thrown at him.
Well, as you printed the summons, I guess verification isn’t necessary. He should sue the police for wasting his time & if he has to miss work to go to court.
Isn’t interesting how since our first Muslim President was elected, these scurrilous summonses & harassments against Jews are getting worse.
Recently the NYPD started to do stupid things like ticketing ppl in crown height for standing on sidewalk. When we really need them somehow u can wait it looks like the rules are officially less crime (no police reports) and more tickets
He has my sympathy. But perhaps next time we will wait for the WALK sign before crossing. That would have avoided the entire problem.
As long as there is an Eruv, one can carry identification on Shabbos. What if someone falls in the street and is unconscious? How would they be able to identify such an indidvidual without identification? It makes no sense, not to carry i.d. If this individual has crossed the street, when the light first turned to green, he would not have been caught in the middle. I know that intersection, and it is not very wide at e. 15th St., and Kings Highway. He probably crossed when he wasn’t supposed to, and got caught in the middle
If the officers involved are not seriously reprimanded, the community should organize a mass protest at the precint.
Attn # 1 and #5 : Don’t be so quick to judge. I know this man personally and he is a big talmud chachum who I’m sure knows more torah than you do.
Something makes no sense here. Why would a police officer insist that a person write his name and address? Why not just ask for it, and the spelling, and let him write it himself.
There is no indication here that an attempt was made to have the cop write the information, and that the cop refused to do so and insisted that the person write it himself.
If you write your name, address, and phone inside of your hat on a piece of paper, is that considered carrying if it also serves purpose of retrieving a lost hat? Then you can just show the police man your hat.
Regardless of what happened – the cop should have been more understanding
i think he did the right thing.
who knows what would have happened had he gotten arrested. his family would have been out searching for him.
Sorry, but its both stupid and high-risk behavior to walk around anywhere w/o some form of ID, even on shabbos, especially since this location is within the eruv. What would have happened if he was hit by a car (as is entirely possible while crossing against the light) or had a heart attack….who would the police or ER call? The police showed poor judgment but so did the guy who was ticketed. If you want to be so machmir on being shomer shabbos, use some common sense.
You can’t force someone to use an erev they don’t hold from. And obviously there is an issue here if a shomer shabbat person was forced to desecrate the Shabbos. If a muslim woman is forced to lift or take off her veil all hell breaks loose. If anyone of any other religion is forced to do something against their religion all hell breaks loose, but if a Yid is forced to desecrate his religion you choose to blame the Yid? What is wrong with you people?
Well as for the halacha it does state that when a goi comes with a bilbul it is sakana and one is permitted to desecrate the sabbath, here the police were obviously looking for something to get him on, to bring him in and have some fun in the station, he was clearly permitted to go ahead and do what they told him to do, rather than risk going to jail for something the police would have made up on him.
although the police should be exposed and kicked out if possible so that other funloving police look for shvartzes to fill the juicy lonely appetite of filling the stupidity of there stupid thick skulls.
Sorry number 3 but bla bla bla bla. Sounds like you were deported straight from ליטא
Yidden, why not have a large peaceful demonstration in front of the 61st Precinct Station House? The Haitians had a demonstration in front of the 70th Precinct Station House. At that time, the network and cable outlets were present. It should be repeated this time.
I’m sorry, but according to Halacha this person had no heter to write his information down and be mechalel Sahbbos. He was mechuyav to go to jail to avoid chilul Shabbos. Jail is NOT pikuach nefesh! I’m not judging this person, but to think that what he did was allowed, is wrong.
I mean, seriously?
A guy was stopped for basically jaywalking, and you idiots are talking about sakonos nefoshos here?
Do any single one of you have the smicha and the ability to be a Posek on when it is okay to be mechallel Shabbos?
Do you am oratzim have the right to say whether or not this person was allowed to write on Shabbos? Even better, is there anyone out there who believes this person would hae been arrested and brought to the police precinct for jaywalking?
The cop would have been laughed out of the police station, and never gotten anything higher than traffic control for that.
You were given two ears and two eyes by Gd, and only one mouth. That alone should tell you that you should see and listen more, and talk less. Unless you are a posek, you have no business giving your opinion on halachic behavior here.
Read the articles, sit quietly, and don’t let anyone know more than they have to what a big am oretz you are.
Kol man de’ovid rachmono l’tav ovid. Now he’ll think twice before standing in the middle of the street with cars speeding inches away.