Jada McPherson just wanted to park her car in Ridgewood district of Queens, New York, and head home. Instead, she wound up in a viral video — fending off punches and racial slurs in a three-on-one brawl that has since sparked outrage on social media.
“They were trying to literally rip my hair out of my scalp,” said McPherson, 21, a Pace University student. She later spoke with the New York Post, describing the moment she was tackled and dragged to the pavement outside a brick rowhouse on Putnam Avenue July 7. “I definitely did fear for my life.”
A foul-mouthed tongue-lashing set things off as McPherson tried to park in a public space the women were “saving” with a garbage bin — a common practice that had long frustrated Ridgewood residents and, according to some, was a confrontation waiting to happen.
The harrowing footage, widely circulated on Reddit and Instagram, shows McPherson trying to claim the open spot when a man blocks her with the trash can. Words were exchanged. Then fists. The man disappeared before police arrived, but McPherson was soon swarmed by two people — Andreea Dumitru, 45, and her son who identifies as Sabrina Starman, 21 — who are now facing assault and harassment charges.
The two came forward and apologized on Monday, but McPherson called their efforts disingenuous.
“I don’t think it’s from their hearts, like deep down,” McPherson said. “But I just hope they could see or see what they did wrong and kind of get a better understanding of how to operate or act in certain situations from this situation.”
The punches thrown during the brawl were nearly outdone by the venom in the air as the exchange devolved into a barrage of racial slurs that stunned viewers.
“You’re a monkey, b—ch,” Dumitru is heard yelling in the video.
“You’re an immigrant, b—ch,” McPherson fired back.
“You’re a f—king slave b—ch,” Starman shouted. “You’re a slave for what it’s worth.”
Video of the confrontation triggered a wave of outrage, arrests, and now, death threats.
“I have hundreds of calls death-threatening me, telling me how they’re going to come,” Dumitru said. “I never in my life have experienced such trauma.”
“I fear for my life,” Dumitru said, adding, “I haven’t been sleeping since I got out of jail. I haven’t been able to rest. I have not been eating.”
In one of the more chilling messages received, someone texted: “You ready to die? Because I’m ready to kill you and your peoples. You will be seeing me shortly. Mark my words, I am going to murder ALL OF YOU.”
Starman and Dumitru said the attack has upended their lives — and that they weren’t the ones who started it.
“It was the way she approached us and provoked us for a whole 30 minutes straight,” said Starman. “So, the 45-minute mark where we got arrested — because we were just only sticking up for ourselves.”
Their attorney, Mahmoud Rabah, claims the video doesn’t show the full story.
“You can’t claim to be a victim if you instigate an altercation with threatening behavior and vile and hurtful language,” he said.
But McPherson isn’t buying their defense — or their apologies.
“I don’t accept the apology only because I feel like the apologies are only because of how much outreach the video is getting,” she said. “I don’t think the apology is wholesome. I don’t think it’s from their hearts, like deep down.”
Still, she condemned the threats made against the mother’s family.
“I just feel like the death threats are unnecessary,” McPherson said. “Especially to [her] son. He shouldn’t be at fault for something that they did.”
The clash exposed a deeper, ongoing problem in the Ridgewood neighborhood: residents illegally reserving public parking spaces with cones, trash bins, or even people. Locals say it’s been creating mounting tensions in the neighborhood.
“You know, I could move the garbage cans and park, but then they could slash my car or something,” said Yesenia Delgado, who’s lived in the area 14 years.
“Someone is always there, holding the spot,” said George Carrasquillo, a neighbor who drives to Manhattan for work and often ends up parking blocks away. “I have to take my kick scooter with me to drop the car off … and have to see all this, their beautiful spot saved. Isn’t this public parking?”
After the arrests, McPherson did get to park in the contested spot. But the cost was steep. She now avoids going out alone and plans to leave the community altogether.
“Jumping one person for a parking space is really not right,” she said.
Dumitru, in hindsight, agrees.
“I’ll never do that again,” she said. “Ever. I learned my lesson. … You want the parking? Take it. It’s not worth this. This is not worth it.”
Great Job A.L. Lee & the Team @ Atlanta Black Star Source link for sharing this story.
