Queens car meetup attack victim alleges slow police response. Here's the NYPD's explanation.
The New York City Police Department has released images of two men accused of beating a man and hitting his wife during a car meetup in the Malba section of Queens over the weekend.
Police also responded Monday to accusations of a delayed response.
Victim describes what happened
The car meetup, featuring vehicles allegedly doing donuts and drag racing late Saturday night into early Sunday morning at the intersection of 141st Street and Boulevard, ended with the assaults and a neighbor's car set on fire, police said.
Blake Ferrer suffered a bruised face with numerous cuts in the attack. Video shows the 50-year-old being assaulted by a group. His wife was also hit in the face.
"Fractured nose, fractured shoulder, fractured ribs, fractured cartilage in my thyroid. It runs the gamut," Ferrer said of his injuries.
Police said they are looking for two men believed to be 18 to 24 years old that fled in a white Chevy Silverado.
Residents said cars were doing donuts and fireworks were set off, adding when a private security guard put a vehicle in the middle of the intersection to stop it all, the group set the car on fire.
"NYPD failed us at this point"
Ferrer said his son was coming home shortly and was concerned for his safety, so he told the group to get off his property. That's when words were exchanged.
"I started to have groups of kids congregate in front of my house on the property," Ferrer said. "I got hit from behind, went down. My only regret is not getting one shot in."
Ferrer said his wife called 911 several times.
"NYPD failed us at this point. Nobody was here," Ferrer said, adding he eventually walked himself to an EMT. "There was an ambulance up the block, probably because the fire department was called when the car was on fire."
The NYPD said it was a busy at the time, with units responding to a vehicle collision, assault and an arrest. Police offered a timeline of their actions, saying:
- At 12:37 a.m., a 911 call came in for possible drag racing. An officer was responding but got relocated to an arrest at another location.
- At 12:50 a.m., police say a 911 call came in at the location for a crime in progress, a higher-priority job, adding an officer arrived on the scene at 1 a.m.
"They weren't here that night when I needed them"
The NYPD said it met with City Councilmember Vickie Palladino and residents, and will be increasing patrols to make sure a car meetup doesn't happen again.
Ferrer said he has seen police in the area since, which he's appreciative of, but added, "They weren't here that night when I needed them."
While he was speaking to CBS News New York, a neighbor drove by and yelled out to him, thanking him for speaking up.
Ferrer said there have been cars doing donuts and other things in the area before, but only a few. He said they usually take videos and then leave.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.