The City Council on Tuesday opened an ethics investigation into Brooklyn Council Member Susan Zhuang, who made headlines earlier this summer over her arrest for allegedly biting a cop during a protest against a new homeless shelter in her district.
City Council spokesperson Shirley Limongi confirmed the body’s Committee on Standards and Ethics launched the inquiry, first reported by the news site Gothamist, on Sept. 17. Limongi noted, however, that the matter is being “held in suspension” while Zhuang’s multiple charges from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office play out in court.
“The committee opened the matter regarding Council Member Zhuang and has held it in suspension pending the resolution of the ongoing prosecution by the Brooklyn District Attorney, as it has in the past when a Council member was facing pending criminal charges,” Limongi said in a statement. “The committee will respect that process. The confidentiality rules that apply to the proceedings of the committee prevent further comment.”
However, another council spokesperson declined to confirm whether the ethics probe specifically concerns the alleged biting incident.
Oren Yaniv, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn DA’s office, told amNewYork Metro that the criminal case is still pending and Zhuang is expected back in court for a conference on Oct. 15. Zhuang previously pleaded not guilty to a litany of charges including assault, resisting arrest, obstructing government administration, unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct, and harassment.
The incident occurred on July 17, when Zhuang joined a protest at the site of a planned a homeless shelter slated to open in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn later this year.
The NYPD say Zhuang was arrested for allegedly preventing cops from reaching an elderly woman stuck under a barricade. Cops say she allegedly shoved the barricade against officers and bit one officer so hard it broke their skin when they tried to get her out of the way.
Zhuang — a conservative Democrat who won her seat on a fiercely pro-police platform — contends the cops were the aggressors and has accused them of excessive force. She insists that she was simply trying to remove the barricade that was on top of the elderly woman when two officers grabbed her from behind and handcuffed her, while pulling her hair and neck.
Shortly after Zhuang’s arrest, she held a town hall in her district, where hundreds of her constituents gathered to laud her actions against the homeless shelter.
After the July 17 incident, some pols — including City Council Member Justin Brannan (D), one of Zhuang’s southern Brooklyn political rivals — were quick to strongly condemn her actions.
Others, including Mayor Eric Adams, were far more measured in their responses, stopping far short of calling for her to be disciplined. Adams even invited Zhuang to a private meeting following her arrest — a level of grace that City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams charged probably would not have been shown to more left-leaning lawmakers.
Zhuang’s office did not immediately return a request for comment on the newly commenced ethics investigation.
With reporting by Kirstyn Brendlen.
