Protest held against Roosevelt Island Peace Officers

ROOSEVELT ISLAND (WABC) -- A protest was held Saturday against the Peace Officers on Roosevelt Island.

Hundreds of Roosevelt Island residents say they are fed up with how they are being treated by their public safety department.

Among those people are Monica Vega, who says her 20-year-old son, Anthony Jones was beaten for no reason by officers.

"He had a punctured lung and broken teeth and lacerations to his face," said Vega.

Vega says her son Anthony was waiting for a friend behind a building, when officers rushed him for no reason.

Anthony suffered extensive injuries and was handcuffed to his hospital bed for five days.

"I don't want people to be beaten anymore [sic] by public safety," added Vega.

Everyone who Eyewitness News met at Saturday's protest had a story of alleged abuse by the Peace Officers from the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department.

Adib Mansour says he was wrongly arrested for taking pictures of police breaking up a soccer match. He added that there is not one day where he doesn't tell his son to be careful of public safety before he leaves the house.

Civil Rights Attorney Norman Siegel said in a statement,

"What's different in Roosevelt Island is that there's no accountability. For example, if something happened in Manhattan or the rest of New York City, you could always make a complaint to the civilian complaint review board, but here, there is no civilian complaint review board."

Residents are demanding accountability. They say their complaints are not being investigated. Right now, they are calling for a US Attorney to get involved.

Roosevelt Island's Public Safety Department is not commenting on Saturday's protest or the alleged abuses.

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