Criminal charges against cop-biting pol Susan Zhuang dropped

Criminal charges filed against southern Brooklyn Council Member Susan Zhuang after she bit a police officer last year were dropped on Tuesday, after she finished a restorative justice program.

Zhuang was arrested last summer after she assaulted an officer during a protest against a proposed homeless shelter in Gravesend.

The first-term council member was charged with multiple counts of assault, resisting arrest, obstructing government administration, harassment, and last year pleaded not guilty on all charges, claiming officers had grabbed her as she was trying to assist an elderly woman trapped by a police barricade. 

The program the council member took part in “created space for dialogue, accountability, and healing,” and included a meeting between Zhuang and victim Frank DiGiacomo, said Brooklyn DA spokesperson Oren Yaniv.

“It was based on the wishes of the victim and the defendant’s willingness to make amends,” he said. “This is exactly what restorative is meant to do — address harm, foster understanding, and support a path forward.”

Restorative justice aims to reduce incarceration by asking perpetrators to take “active accountability,” according to the Center for Justice Innovation — which facilitated Zhuang’s program, according to Politico.

In cases where people are charged with misdemeanors or felonies related to “interpersonal harm,” the defendant and the victim will meet with each other and members of their community to discuss the incident, how it impacted the victim, and how to prevent future harm in the future. 

If both parties are satisfied, the case is returned to the court and closed, per CJI. Zhuang’s case will also be sealed, per news outlet THE CITY. 

Katelynn Ulrich, a spokesperson for Zhuang, said in a statement “Susan Zhuang’s mission has not changed. We go forward.”

Zhuang, a right-leaning Democrat, has received significant praise from her supporters since the arrest. 

A vocal group of her constituents are strongly against the proposed homeless shelter she was protesting last summer, and vowed last summer to “never stop protesting” against the site.  

Locals gave her a hero’s welcome when she returned to the district after her arraignment last summer, and when she had a brief court appearance months later, gathered outside the courthouse waving signs that said “Stand With Susan Zhuang” and “Equal Justice for Susan Zhuang.” In the months after the incident, more than 200 people donated over $66,00o to her legal defense fund.

Zhaung is up for re-election this year, and has so far raised more than $84,000 toward her campaign, according to the city’s Campaign Finance Board. Now that charges have been dropped, though, the City Council is likely to continue an ethics investigation of the council member. The investigation had previously been paused until the court case case was finished.