Crown Heights Riot

Title: Crown Heights Riot

On August 22, 1991, there was an accidental crash which resulted in the killing of a 7-year-old boy named Gavin Cato and for his cousin Angela Cato who was also 7, to be injured. Her injuries were severe she nearly bit through her tongue and lost half an ear. The person driving the vehicle was a Jewish man named Yosef Lifsh, who was in horror after he saw what he did.

Lifsh was escorting Schneerson home after visiting his wife at the cemetery with three other vehicles. Because the Schneerson family had an NYPD escort for all his cemetery visits, it was seen as one of many privileges police offered the Jewish community in Crown Heights which raised resentment among black residents, who had trouble with the NYPD instead of help. Schneerson was seen as the Jewish equivalent of the Pope. The cops had said that “such a high-profile religious figure required police protection”. The lead vehicle was a 71st Precinct police car. The second vehicle contained the grand rebbe. The last car was Lifsh station wagon who had twin brothers, Levi and Yaakov Spielman as passengers. As they were driving back the first two cars sped through a green light and as Lifsh drove through the intersection going West, his station wagon collided with a 1981 Chevrolet Malibu headed north. The impact sent Lifsh’s car onto the sidewalk and it pinned Gavin and Angela against the brick exterior of a four-story apartment building. Lifsh, who claimed he jumped from the car as soon as he could to help the children, was attacked by an angry crowd. His passenger, Levi Spielman, told police he tried to call 911 from a portable phone but was punched and beaten so aggressively he couldn’t complete the call. When the 71 precincts arrived there were still some people beating up Lifsh. They instantly called for backup and were urgent to get them to safety. When the crowd saw an ambulance pulling away with the Jewish driver, leaving the two children on the ground, the long-simmering cauldron of racial and religious tensions between the black and Hasidic communities exploded.

This accident was a motive that lead to the Crown Heights 3 day riot mostly because of rumors that were spread such as, the death was deliberate and the driver was drunk. Another was that an ambulance crew did not bring Cato to the hospital for a while because they were tending Lifsh instead. After all this was said, the public started rioting all throughout the streets starting with the shots that were heard by Utica Ave and gangs from both sides started attacking each other and people on the side of the street. Although attacks were going on all throughout that night none were fatal until Yankel Rosenbaum, who was walking through President St. at midnight, ran into 15 African American kids and a 16-year-old who stabbed him 4 times which eventually lead to the 29-year-old man’s death.

After this, the violence got worse and it caused many people their lives. There was the destruction of property all throughout the city and chaos in every corner. More than 1,800 cops were called in to restore order after the riots had calmed down.