According to the owner of the building, two doormen of apartment buildings in New York City were fired for failing to help an Asian American woman after she was brutally attacked on the sidewalk.
Doormen were filmed watching the March attack by Vilma Kari, who the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said is of Filipino descent, before reporting a police vehicle after the assailant left. .
The Brodsky Organization, which owns apartment buildings across the city, said it had completed an investigation into the response of the doormen.
“While the full lobby video shows that once the assailant left, doormen appeared to assist the victim and report an NYPD vehicle, it is clear that the required emergency and security protocols do not have not been followed, “according to a statement from the Brodsky organization. .
The organization is retraining all building personnel on “appropriate emergency response protocols as well as anti-bias awareness and outreach,” the statement said.
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“We are extremely distraught and shocked by this incident, and our hearts are with the victim,” the statement said. “We worked with the AAPI civic community to reach out to her family, as well as to determine how best to support the fight against anti-Asian hate crimes.”
The 38-year-old suspect threw out anti-Asian sentiments and assaulted Kari, 65, on March 29 outside the luxury apartment building in downtown Manhattan, the New York Police Department said. CCTV footage from inside the building showed a man punching and stomping on Kari several times.
She was hospitalized with serious injuries, including a fractured pelvis and bruises on her forehead, but has since been released.
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Brandon Elliot has been charged with two counts of second-degree assault as a hate crime and one count of attempted first-degree assault as a hate crime in connection with the attack, the office said. of the Manhattan District Attorney. Elliot was already on life parole for fatally stabbing his mother in 2002, authorities said.
In a statement last week, the leader of the union representing construction workers disputed the allegation that the doormen failed to act.
“Our union is working to get more details for a fuller account and urges the public to avoid a rush to judgment while the facts are determined,” said union president Kyle Bragg.
The union initially said workers immediately called for help, but on Wednesday they said they waited until the attacker had left to help the woman and report a police car.
The attack was the latest in a wave of hate incidents against Asian Americans across the country. Over 3,795 incidents were reported to Stop AAPI Hate from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021, but that is “only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur,” the advocacy group said. .
Contributor: Ryan Miller, USA TODAY.
Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.