Police Hunt For Monday's Pier 15 Rapist Of OWS Woman

Police are looking for Jackie Barcliff 44, for the rape of a 56-year-old woman on Pier 15 early Monday morning. After he raped her police say he threw the woman off the second

story of the pier over the railing and where she landed 20 feet below. The woman suffered a broken arm and a fractured pelvis from the fall. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital and under went surgery. According to the police they met that same day at an OWS related event and she recognized Barcliff from previous OWS demonstrations.

The Parks Department had Park Enforcement Patrol coverage (PEP) coverage exclusively dedicated to the Pier for the first time on Sunday but they left by 8:00pm - five hours before the incident occurred. Sunday was the first day PEP began it's "Contract Park" obligations where officers are assigned exclusivity to one park. The two officers are contracted to work just one shift leaving the Pier for vast majority of the day not secured. The public, including elected official and advocates have been calling for a dramatic rise in the hiring of officers to provide security in parks city-wide which have seen a dramatic rise in crime.

This was the third reported rape on parkland in a little over a week including the brutal attact on a 73-year-old woman on Central Park.

Manhattan

As protestors begin to filter into New York City over the weekend to commemorate the anniversary Monday of Occupy Wall Street (OWS), the NYPD is hunting for a rapist among them, according to the NYPD which released a Media Advisory from the Special Victims Squad today.

Earlier this week, a 56-year-old woman who was in Manhattan to participate in OWS protests was raped and thrown from two stories by an individual she recognized from previous OWS demonstrations.

Police officers guarded the entrance to Pier 15 on Monday. The pier was closed all day while police investigated the crime scene. (Exclusive Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advcates)

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on Monday, September 10th, the assailant forced the woman to accompany him to the elevated level of the new Pier 15 park overlooking the East River in lower Manhattan. He raped her there and, afterwards, flung her over the second-story railing to the ground below, causing her to sustain a broken pelvis and other serious injuries.

Police are looking for Jackie Barcliff, Male Black ,44, who was arrested for assault and resisting arrest last December in front of Liberty Plaza, and who then tried to escape after being apprehended by police. Barcliff has frequented other OWS gathering sites in lower Manhattan in the past.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

Read More:

NYPD Hunts Occupy Wall Street Rape Suspect

WNBC - September 13, 2012

Jackie Barcliff: Police searching for Occupy protester accused of rape

Metro NY - September 13, 2012 - By Cassandra Garrison

NYPD identifies Jackie Barcliff, 44, as the Occupy Wall Street demonstrator

who raped a fellow protestor in lower Manhattan earlier this week

New York Daily News - September 13, 2012 - By Shayna Jacobs

Occupy Wall Street Protester Raped, Flung 2 Stories to Ground: Police

WNBC - September 13, 2012

Suspect Sought in Rape of Occupy Wall Street Protester Near South Street Seaport

City Room - New York Times - September 13, 2012 - By Andy Newman

Police Search For Alleged Pier 15 Rapist

NY1 News

Protester eyed in rape

New York Post - September 14, 2012 - By Kirstan Conley

Woman Raped & Thrown Off Second Story of Pier 15

A Walk In The Park - September 11, 2012

OWS Man Attacked In Union Sq. Park - Then Hit By Car

Violence and lawlessness has returned to the southern end of Union Square Park. Gothamist posted a number of disturbing videos of recent fights including one from the other night. According to sources the park supervisor (above in light shirt ) tried to intervene before the fight began and called 911 during the altercation between a menacing shirtless 6'6 male (r) and an Occupy Wall Street regular.

An unshielded PEP officer - with no arrest powers - can be seen in the video (l) on his radio calling for help.

"Every police department has a field training program. PEP has no field training program," fumed one PEP officer. "He's dumped out there alone without proper field training in a very high profile park where they know things happen on an hourly basis. He has no authority to get involved. The public needs to be protected, as does the officer, but the administration doesn't care. Also he shouldn't have a baton or pepper stray which he is unauthorized to have under state law. He's not a Special Patrolman."

The City has repeatedly refused to address the various conditions in the park and to make matters worse sources say the Parks Department's current plan is not to replace the one officer assigned there after the pool season ends in a few days which would leave no dedicated officers in one of the City's most heavily used parks.

When gothamist asked the Parks Department's press office whether park employees were expected to intervene in such situations, they refused to answer and bizarrely referred "all questions" to the Police Department.

"It shows a lack of concern for people's safety in New York City parks and a denial of their responsibly," said Joe Puleo, vice president of local 983 which represents PEP. "They are putting people in harms way. They are incompetent and Bloomberg let's them get away with it. If you ask them when they're going to plant the next tree they'll have the answer."

- Geoffrey Croft

Manhattan

Yesterday, we posted a video of a shirtless man beating another man in Union Square right in front of what appeared to be security guards, according to gothamist.

We've spoken to several Union Square regulars and locals who have identified the attacker as one "Tyrone"—and they say he's been causing trouble around the park all month, and that he claims to be a member of the Crips. It seems that this punching incident was the result of tensions between Tyrone's group, known as "The Fountain Gang," and the Occupy Wall Street activists and homeless people who spend their days in the park.

We're told The Fountain Gang is angry because OWS folks have brought greater attention onto Union Square, which led to the park being closed at night—as well as more trouble for them when they've wanted to drink and smoke pot there. Sources tell us that the victim in the video above is a panhandler who identifies as a member of OWS; before the video began, Tyrone allegedly stole the victim's hat.

The two other men in the video aren't cops—one is a park manager (the man with the badge around his neck), and the other is an unshielded peace officer who has no arrest powers. The park manager repeatedly talked to Tyrone and the victim before the fight escalated to try to calm them down, to no avail. Tyrone, who is 6'6", ended up punching and beating the victim; as the video ends, the victim staggers onto the street and is hit by a car. Afterwards, police arrived and handcuffed Tyrone—but when they found the victim inside the nearby Duane Reade, he refused to press charges, and Tyrone was released.

"The park is deteriorating, because the city refuses to assign enforcement and NYPD around the clock," NYC Park Advocates' Geoffrey Croft told us. "The park is a heavily-used public space, and should be welcoming to everyone, but this criminal element is preventing the general public from enjoying it."Recently, City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. and local unions complained that there has been a drastic reduction in the amount of Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) officers: “There are more rovers on Mars than there are PEP officers in Queens,” Vallone told the News.

Croft echoed that sentiment, saying that was what led to an unshielded peace officer sitting on the sidelines during a violent, and what could have been deadly, situation. "Some of these guys have one or two days of training, then they're dumped out there," Croft said. "That guy was almost killed. Something has to be done before someone is killed."

Joey Boots told us Tyrone and his crew are new to Union Square: "I've seen him around this summer, he hangs around the fountain and the Gandhi statue. He hangs out with a lot of young kids from school, smokes pot, kicks the soccer ball around," Boots said, adding, "He's an asshole."

Performance artist Matthew Silver—aka the Man In The White Dress—told us Tyrone attacked him during a performance recently, and it was caught on camera (watch the video below):

Tyrone has been harassing me at Union Square, I'm a street performance artist, I do clowning and make people laugh. He has already threatened to beat me up and kill me three times. I want something to be done about it...I have footage of him kicking my props during a show, when I have a crowd. Please help me get rid of this guy from the park, he's not good for anybody. He's a bully and he's not a nice man.

Silver added in a post about the incident, "Later, he comes back and tries to offer me a puff of his joint, I say no thank you and then he communicates in a calm way that he’s on the Crips, and he’ll kill me if I wear my Speedo. There are children out here." Normal Bob, the graphic artist and Union Square anthropologist,witnessed another incident in which Tyrone disrupted Silver's performance, and got video of it:

As for that attack, Normal Bob gave Silver some advice about dealing with bullies at the square: "A Village Idiot doesn't give a flying fuck when his garbage is thrown...I mean, isn't the one glaring benefit of having a show of trash that the joke's on anyone who would come in and treat it like trash?"

We contacted the Park Department yesterday to further clarify what responsibility park security has in regards to these situations, but they referred us to the NYPD—in the process, they didn't explain that the people seen in the first video weren't actually cops. Croft said the Parks Department press office was being irresponsible, "It's completely negligent, because that is their job, and they have a legal responsibility to deal with these matters in parks."

As if to bring the problems of policing Union Square park home, here is yet ANOTHER video of a man punching a kid in broad daylight...in front of (what appears to be) park security.

Read/View More:

Videos: Union Square "Fountain Gang" Bullies Performance Artist, Others

gothamist - August 30, 2012 - By Ben Yakas

Goon Knocks Thug Out With Uppercut Right In Front Of Police Broad Daylight At Union Square!

August 23, 2012

Update: Inwood Hill Park: Sarah Fox's Killer's DNA NOT Linked To Occupy Wall Street Subway Vandalism

Inwood Hill Park - May 25, 2004. Police guard the entrance to the murder scene a few hours after volunteers discovered the body of 21-year-old Sarah Fox, an Inwood Hill resident for only six months. “We have one park-portable but he’s rarely in the parks, ” said a veteran 34th pct officer who spoke on the condition anonymity at the scene. “He’s a summons guy, he’s got to make the numbers by the end of the month. That’s what the city wants, it’s too bad. Not that this could have been prevented, but you never know. These are desolate areas, we should have at least a presence.” After a short pause he continued, “But, it’s all about the (the amount of tickets given) numbers. (park-portable - an officer assigned to parks) (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates.)

“They need it, they got a lot parkland up there, ” said a NYPD Sgt. from the nearby 33 Pct speaking about manpower needed in the parks, who also spoke on the condition he not be identified.

“One of the things she (Sarah) said to me is, ‘Mom, I’m exploring my neighborhood,’” Lorraine Fox, Sarah’s mother said at the time. Every person should have the right to explore their neighborhood without experiencing this horrible tragedy.

UPDATE: On Tuesday it was first reported that DNA evidence collected from the murder scene of Sarah Fox in 2004 had been linked to DNA off a chain left behind by Occupy Wall Street protesters at a subway station in March. On Wednesday it was revealed however that the DNA had been tained by a lab employee.

Sadly her killer has never been brought to justice.

- Geoffrey Croft

A missing poster of murdered Juliard Student Sarah Fox posted in Inwood Hill Park. (Photo: Craig Warga /New York Daily News)

Manhattan

Officials have linked forensic evidence from the 2004 murder scene of a 21-year-old Juilliard student to the scene of a recent Occupy Wall Street subway vandalism, NBC 4 New York has learned.

NBC 4 New York has learned that investigators have connected DNA evidence from the scene of Sarah Fox's murder in Inwood Hill Park eight years ago to DNA collected from an item located at the scene of an Occupy Wall Street subway station vandalism in March.

Fox was found nude and strangled in the park in May 2004, days after she disappeared during a daytime jog. Investigators recovered her pink CD player in the woods just yards from her body.

Sources said Tuesday the DNA found on the CD player is linked to DNA found on a chain left by Occupy Wall Street protesters at the Beverly Road subway station in East Flatbush on March 28, 2012.

That Wednesday morning, protesters chained open emergency gates and taped up turnstiles in eight subway stations and posted fliers encouraging riders to enter for free.

A "communique" posted online later that day by the "Rank and File Initiative" described the act as a protest against service cuts, fare hikes and transit employees' working conditions.

It was attributed to "teams of activists, many from Occupy Wall Street... with rank and file workers from the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and the Amalgated Transit Union."

Sources said they have not connected a person to the common DNA found on the CD player and the chain. There's no immediate evidence that the DNA belongs to the Occupy Wall Street protesters who chained open the gates.

No one was arrested in the March incidents. Police are continuing to investigate, and are now working to try to identify the source of the DNA found in common with the chain and CD player.

Dr. Lawrence Koblinsky, a forensics expert at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the DNA link was a major clue in the investigation, one that could potentially break the case.

“You’ve got the same DNA left at two distinct sites," said Koblinsky. "Until they find the individual who left that DNA, we won’t know. But the likelihood is high the person who left that DNA on the CD player is the killer of Sarah Fox.”

Dimitry Sheinman, 47, has been long been considered a suspect in the Fox murder. He has since moved to South Africa and started a family. He was never charged in the case. Sheinman recently returned to New York City, proclaming to be a clairvoyant with knowledge of the killer's identity.

The information he gave police is unclear.

Read/View More

EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Fox Murder Scene DNA Linked to Occupy Wall

Street Subway Vandalism Scene

WNBC - July 10, 2012 By Shimon Prokupecz and Jonathan Dienst

'Link' between DNA from Occupy Wall Street protest & Sarah Fox

murder was actually product of a lab mess-up: sources
New York Daily News - July 11, 2012 - By Rocco Parascandola, Christina Boyle amd Tracy Conner

Sarah Fox Case: DNA match linking 2004 Julliard student murder scene to

Occupy Wall Street protest a lab error, official says

WCBS - July 13, 2012

Tompkins Square Park Closed Early Again

Tompkins Square Park was padlocked on Tuesday night by the Police in connection with Occupy Wall Street. It was the second time in recent weeks that the police shut the gates early at the park. (Photo: Colin Moynihan for The New York Times)

Manhattan

Just after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, James Drysdale was about to enter Tompkins Square Park when he was surprised to find his passage barred by a metal gate chained shut at East Seventh Street and Avenue B, according to the New York Times.

The other gates around the 10-acre park in the East Village were also chained shut, long before the park’s normal midnight curfew. Mr. Drysdale, 33, an architect, said he wondered if there had been a violent crime in the park.

Others in the area, however, said the police had closed the park one to two hours earlier, apparently in response to an Occupy Wall Street march consisting of several dozen people who paraded down Avenue A in support of students in Montreal who had marked on Tuesday their 100th day protesting tuition increases.

A participant in the New York march, Keegan Stephan, said that it had followed an event held earlier in the evening inside Washington Square by an Occupy-related group called the Free University. Around 8 p.m., he said, the marchers started heading east on 10th Street, announcing Tompkins Square as their destination.

Mr. Keegan raced ahead on his bicycle and found police officers also arriving at Tompkins Square, well before the marchers. “Before the march was visible or audible from the park, police came up in cars and closed the park,” he said.

It was the second time in recent weeks that the police shut the gates early at Tompkins Square, a city park with a long history of confrontations between the police and protesters over, among other things, curfew enforcement.

On April 14, the police ordered people to leave Tompkins Square and chained the gates shut after participants in a Greenwich Village march struck the window of a Starbucks with a metal pole and scuffled with officers, the authorities said, before passing by or through Tompkins Square.

The police did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the reasons for closing the park.

Mr. Stephan said that on Tuesday, the marchers passed along Avenue A for about two blocks, passing part of the park, then headed back west on St. Mark’s Place. As the procession passed along Avenue A, he said, officers prevented people from entering or leaving through some park entrances. Afterward, he said, the police announced to dozens of people inside the park that they had to leave.

By 10 p.m. the supporters of the Canadian students had long since departed, but people who showed up to Tompkins Square expecting an evening stroll beneath the trees instead found the locked gates. Some wondered why the park was closed in the absence of any visible disturbance or emergency.

“It just feels creepy that this public gem is being closed down,” Mr. Drysdale said.

John Greene, 61, said officers told him around 9 p.m. that they had closed the gates to prevent protesters from damaging the park, an explanation that he found not particularly persuasive.

“I see no reason for it,” Mr. Greene said of the closing, adding that the marchers “should be allowed to express their opinions in the venues most attractive to them.”

Read More:

Sorry, Folks, Park’s Closed (Hours Early)

New York Times City Room - May 23, 2012 - By Colin Moynihan

Occupy Wall Street Moves To Federal Hall Steps Across From Wall Street

Federal Hall, the site of the swearing in of the first president of the United States George Washington. On Wednesday the NYPD divided the Federal Hall steps, and barricaded Occupy Wall Street to one side by installing metal barricades. (Photos: (Anna Hiatt /Gothamist)

Manhattan

Since Occupy Wall Street protesters were removed from their sidewalk sleeping space across the street from the NYSE, they have relocated themselves to the steps of Federal Hall several feet away, according to gothamist.

The situation has devolved into a strained tug-of-war between the demonstrators and the NYPD and the U.S. Parks Police, with each side at odds over the right to protest, the residents nearby, and Federal Hall, which sits on federal property. According to a Parks Police officer standing in front of Federal Hall, the barricades now bisecting the steps belong to the NYPD and were placed there with the permission of the Parks Police.

"They said this is the 'protest side' and that is the 'non-protest side,' " demonstrator Jo Robin said. "What is it about what we're saying that puts us in this box?"

A permit is required to hold events and demonstrations with more than 25 people. The Park Service offered the protesters one on Monday night, and even offered to waive the fee. But the demonstrators refused, and some expressed a desire to force the federal government to choose whether or not to remove them.

"There's no question that the Park Service can waive any permitting process that they think applies, and I don't think the NYPD would have a say in that," NYCLU associate legal director Chris Dunn tells us. "But clearly those steps aren't an NYPD-free enforcement zone. If they see anyone violate the law they can arrest them."

Dunn says people routinely stand or sit on the steps at all hours of the day without any issue, but that is generally not considered an "event," which requires a permit. On Monday, protesters were told they could not "sleep" or "camp" on the stairs, and Robin says she was told last night that if she fell asleep, Parks Police would "remove, but not arrest me."

The night before about 100 protesters gathered on the steps of Federal Hall, singing songs and chanting. Some people who said they lived in the neighborhood also gathered on Wall Street, some of them yelling and cursing at the protesters. Several protesters were arrested shortly thereafter, including one who an officer said was making excessive noise. (Photo: Michael Appleton for The New York Times)

A dispatcher for the U.S. Parks Police office based in New York told us that their office has yet to issue a statement regarding the barricades, and that his superior was downtown monitoring the situation. As of this writing, there are around a half-dozen U.S. Park Police officers and a dozen NYPD officers monitoring Federal Hall.

Regarding the arrests of some protesters for unreasonable noise, Dunn says this is consistent with city law. "I don't know of any 10:00 p.m. cutoff, and city sound ordinances limit times when permits can be, and these protesters don't seem to have a permit. The NYPD make a judgement call about whether or not the noise is unreasonable, and they have a lot of discretion, which can be a problem in some instances."

Also unclear is the NYPD's justification for forcing protesters off the sidewalk in the first place, given a federal court ruling in 2000 that allows sleeping on half of the sidewalk as a form of political speech. According to the Times' Colin Moynihan, police told two protesters who tried to sit down on the sidewalk on Broad Street that it was a "high security area," and that they couldn't be there. Shortly after, they were arrested.

Additional reporting by Anna Hiatt

NYPD Divides Federal Hall Steps, Barricading Occupy Wall Street To One Side

gothamist - April 18, 2012 - By Christopher Robbins

City Officials Keeping A Close Watch On Occupy Wall Street Rally At Union Square Park

Parks Commissioner Adrain Benepe visited Union Square Park Friday evening with the Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) Urban Park Service head Michael Dockett. Liam Kavanagh came by a bit later in the evening. The Parks Department has pulled PEP officers from other parks and deployed six officers for the Occupy Wall Street movement in Union Square, officers they can not spare. (Nice overtime) On Saturday, OWS is planning to march from Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park) to Union Square Park. (Photos: © Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

"As long as they are not interfering with the rights of other people who are enjoying the park they can stay, as long as they are not blocking access they can stay," Benepe said of the protestors on Thursday.

When asked if they would be allowed to have their large Saturday rally planned for the park without a permit Benepe replied, "I really can't comment on what might happen in the future."

The City is not allowing protestors to sleep overnight in the public park. - Geofffrey Croft

Manhattan

The city will be watching like a hawk Saturday as Occupy Wall Street protesters rally in bustling Union Square, according to the New York Daily News.

“We’ll speak with the Law Department, the Police Department,” Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said. “We’ll handle situations as they arise.”

Benepe, who made the comments after a City Council budget hearing, said some protesters have been rallying in the park the past few days without a permit.

He said the protesters have been allowed to gather as long as they follow the rules because they haven’t been an “organized group.”

“If it’s an organized group,” he said. “that brings up other things.”

There is a midnight curfew in the park and protesters will be expected to leave by then, he said.

Councilman Jumaane Williams said the cops haven’t always been clear about what the rules are.

He said he was in the park on Wednesday and was told that it was illegal to hold up a banner.

“Let everybody know exactly what the rules are so the protesters can make informed decisions,” he said.

NYPD officers keep a watchful eye on activities in Union Square Park on Friday Night. For the past two nights police have enforced the park's 12:00am curfew. The have placed barricades around the southern plaza and prevented protesters from staying overnight.

Read More:

City officials will be keeping a close watch on Occupy Wall Street rally at Union Square Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said he will ensure that any demonstrators have proper permits

New York Daily News - March 22, 2012 - By Tina Moore

Occupy Wall Street Relocates To Union Square Park -

NYPD Moves Them Out Wednesday Morning

A Walk In The Park - March 21, 2012