State Senator Gets in Scuffle With Traffic Cop
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The youngest member of New York’s State Senate was arrested for assault yesterday after he picked a fight with a traffic officer and punched him in the face, police said.
Around mid-afternoon, Senator Kevin Parker, 35, Democrat of Flatbush, was arrested in his home district after a confrontation with a traffic officer over a parking ticket. Only minutes earlier, Mr. Parker had been involved in a minor fender-bender at the intersection of Avenue H and New York Avenue, according to police reports.
Calls to Mr. Parker’s district office were not immediately returned. A lifelong Brooklyn resident, Mr. Parker has established a reputation as a community advocate with an extensive history of public service. He previously served as a special assistant to Manhattan President Ruth Messinger and took part in the city’s prestigious Urban Fellows program.
After a failed bid for City Council in 2001, Mr. Parker was elected to the state Legislature the next year, with 78% of the vote. According to police, witnesses to yesterday’s incident said Mr. Parker’s car was double-parked on Avenue H when the officer noticed it and stopped to write him a ticket. Mr. Parker then rushed over to his vehicle and attempted to talk his way out of the ticket, police said. When the officer refused, Mr. Parker allegedly pushed the man.
At that point, the officer, who was not identified by police, returned to his car and attempted to finish writing the ticket, police said. Before it was complete, however, Mr. Parker reached into the window of the officer’s car, crumpled up his ticket, and threw the wadded-up paper into the officer’s face. Police said the officer then got out of his car and an argument ensued, before Mr. Parker threw the first punch. According to police, witnesses said the officer returned Mr. Parker’s blow, and the fight was broken up. The senator was charged with assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor. He could face up to a year’s incarceration if convicted. Had he been charged and convicted of a felony, he would have been forced to resign his seat, because the Legislature prohibits felons from holding office.
