Brookyn Rabbi Handcuffed At Gunpoint By Police During Traffic Stop
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — A Brooklyn rabbi was left traumatized by an incident in which a Vermont state trooper ordered him at gunpoint to lie down after he failed to pull over his car, his son said.
Rabbi Berl Fink did not pull over for more than 4 miles when the officer, Justin Thompson, flashed his blue lights, on Aug. 8, according to a statement by the Vermont State Police. The police said Fink had been driving 83 miles per hour in a 65 miles per hour zone and that there were no other cars in the vicinity.
Fink said he had been looking for a safe place to stop, according to The Associated Press.
When Fink did pull over, Thompson ordered him at gunpoint to lie down on the ground and handcuffed him, his wife and one of his sons said.
The police said last month that it found the officer acted according to protocol and there was no evidence of bias or profiling.
New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind of Brooklyn criticized the police findings.
“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?” Hikind wrote on Facebook.
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