NYS Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) says he’s shocked that the Vermont State Police have found the terrifying arrest of Rabbi Berel Fink’s family in any way acceptable based on their report that showed no evidence of bias or profiling.
“Who said this was a bias issue?” asked Hikind. “The police video makes it clear that this family was put through an ordeal that was terrifying beyond description. They were pulled over in the rain, reportedly for speeding, but were never issued a speeding ticket, which right away tells you something is odd. It’s also obvious that Rabbi Fink was not trying to elude the police—he was just looking for a safe place to pull over in the rain, and within minutes he did so.
“I watched the video in shock. I could only imagine what this family was going through. Rabbi Fink was clearly confused but he wasn’t resisting the police—nevertheless, he was treated like a terrorist, told to lie on his face on the street and handcuffed at gunpoint in front of his family. And then his son, who was a passenger, was treated the same way. And then his wife! You can hear her crying—she is terrified. These people clearly posed no danger to anyone.
“I object to these findings which exonerate this state trooper on the grounds that this was not a bias issue. Where was the sensitivity? The professionalism? Once this family was stopped, the trooper clearly saw what we all see—a frightened family who did not understand why they were being arrested. Rabbi Fink didn’t think he was speeding—no one in their right mind speeds past a police car on purpose. Once the police had run the plates and saw who they were dealing with, there was no need to take the matter any further. I can’t image this occurring in New York. Months later, this is an experience that has effected the lives on this family. It was just terrifying and so clearly unnecessary.”
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12 Responses
To be fair.
Rabbi fink has a valid point, If you pay close attention, while rabbi fink is being questioned why he did not pull over at first, He makes his argument that he saw the lights flashing {EVEN BEFORE HE CHANGED BACK TO THE RIGHT LANE}
Which is a very important factor, For a driver it can truly be very confusing at the first few moments, And to be honest the Trooper didn’t fallow his proper training either (ONLY FROM THE BEGINNING) Because he is required to put on his lights only after a 2-3 hundred feet of tailgating, to inform a driver that he means directly him.
(Note) Rabbi fink is not a 2 year old, he is a highly respected figure in our community, its unfortunate what happened,
The truth of the matter is that thank goodness by us אחינו בני ישראל its not a often scene to watch such horrific episode.
Rabbi fink can even (Bantch Gomel,} Because all you need to do is Google police car chase, and you will totally understand how things sometimes end,
This is so shocking, that it seems unreal. Don’t they recognize a Jewish family? Don’t they know what we are about?
If this would have happened to me, I would have told them, this is not communist Romania (where I come from).
Although the adrenaline rush may prevent thinking of something like this, if you feel unsafe pulling over, call 911 tell them that a cop is trying to pull you over and you are just trying to find safe place to do so. The dispatcher will relay the message to the cop and all will be just fine(in many cases they will even guide you to a safe stopping point). Notice how the officer’s tone changed once the officer heard the whole story and realized he wasn’t a threat?? Unfortunately, many scenarios like this end up with actual threats so the police need to train and act like this for all situations until situation is determined to not be a threat.
The Police are 100% right in this case. The Rabbi didn’t pull over until about 5 minutes after the Police Officer began chasing him; which means the Police Officer assumed the worst, ie. he was a possible armed and dangerous criminal running from the law.
I think I heard enough of Mr Hikind spewing his venom and don’t get me wrong he does a lot of good. Watch the clip, it takes almost 5 minutes for him to pull over and if you think the police didn’t realize that the family was terrified watch it again. The police could’ve taken Rabbi Fink in, but they saw the family was terrified so thay only detained him. The police don’t take chances anymore and do/will follow rigid protocol. So to Mr Hikind stop thinking that everyone is out to get us, frum erlich jews, and you’ll see that the world is better to us than you think.
Hikind nonsense. The troopers behaviour was standard practice for a car and driver who fail to stop when ordered to do so whilst speeding late at night. What does Rabbi Fink mean “once he suspected he was being pulled over”? The sirens were blazing and the lights flashing. The dashcam shows quite clearly what happened. There was no suspicion; he was being pulled over for speeding. The trooper acted quite properly, as the dashcam shows. The hero’s son also disobeyed police instructions. And no Mrs Hero, the police were not brutal in any way. Sarah Fink should not have told the New York Post the ordeal was “traumatizing”, she should have told her husband to pull over when the police told him to. If you listen to the questioning when asked if he had been stopped by the police before, he said about seven years ago. When the trooper asked him how it turned out, did you pull over, Fink starts saying they always … is “always” a loshon of being stopped once? The police questioning was very correct and to the point. Unfortunately the Finks seem to suffer from the “asher bachar banu” syndrome.These are people not following the law. In the circumstances they were treated respectfully. What does Hikind mean when he says “I can’t image this occurring in New York”? In New York the police respect the power and influence of the Jews, is that it?
He is so right!!
Dov Hikind: Driving at 83MPH and he didn’t know he was speeding? “Treated like a terrorist”? Are you a “baki” in Vermont police procedures? What does the Vermont law say an officer is supposed to do in this situation? When you can answer the last two questions please report back to us.
Hikind is getting to the point where one worries about his stability. If you watch the video, this guy ignores the sirens and flashing lights for nearly 5 minutes (not 30 seconds or a minute) and continues driving at highway speeds rather than slowing down a looking for what he calls a “safe” place to stop. Too many police have been shot in similar chases for this Vermont trooper to take a risk. Fink was lucky he didn’t get himself killed and his whining about having to drop to the ground shows he is clueless about standard police procedure where somone mindlessly drives on for 5 minutes when he should have pulled over immediately. As another poster noted, Fink made zero effort to alert 911 or even slow down so his story is not believable.
I agree with you (dkbmd)
The tone totally changed from the officer..
the police acted properly. and when it was no longer necessary to be assertive they acted politely and with consideration.
there was certainly no indication of anti semitism.
im not from new york and dont know mr hikind, but if he makes this kind of fuss over nothing he will lose peoples trust and respect.
The whole chase was about 4.4 miles between exit 14 and 15. At no time did he pass an exit and fail to take it, so the explanation that he was looking for a safe place to stop seems reasonable. If he had continued another 1/2 mile or so, he could have exited at exit 15. I think that without seeing any excessive speed or dangerous maneuvers (after the officer turned on the lights and siren), the officer should not assume someone is eluding unless they pass an exit without getting off.
dkbmd and Gadolhadorah: Please get a good pair of headphones and listen to what the woman says at 10:36.
Realize too that the agency that answers a 911 call is not necessarily the same agency as the officer trying to make the traffic stop, so it might take time for the message to get passed along.