Brookylyn Councilwoman Speaks After Shelter Protest Arrest

BROOKLYN, NY — Councilwoman Susan Zhuang spoke out for the first time since her arrest at a shelter protest after biting a NYPD police chief in the arm earlier this week.

During a public appearance Thursday in southern Brooklyn in front of residents and reporters, Zhuang accused police officers of “brutality” when they attempted to arrest her, allegedly pulling her hair and grabbing her neck.

"Police brutality is wrong, the misuse of enforcement is wrong," she said.

Zhuang has contested she was helping an elderly woman who "had become stuck under a barricade"

The elderly woman — Yu Xin Chen, 78, —told the New York Post that the councilwoman is a hero and saved her life.

Zhuang, 38, has been charged with second and third-degree assault, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration. She has pled not guilty to those charges.

Mayor Eric Adams, in an interview with PIX11 Thursday, said he was surprised by the councilwoman's arrest after she bit Deputy Chief of Patrol Frank DiGiacomo in the arm Wednesday.

"I hope the chief is okay. It was a pretty nasty bite in his forearm. I was a little surprised that this happened with the councilwoman. She's extremely supportive of police. These are emotional issues, and no one wants a shelter open in the area. That council district, that area, has no shelters at all," Adams said to PIX11.

The protest happened at 25th Avenue and 86th Street in Bensonhurst. Individuals were protesting a proposed men's shelter.