Dog's killing leads to Brooklyn progressive civil war over 'social justice,' New York Times reports

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County executive of Dutchess County Marc Molinaro joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the tragic killing and the broader crime surge impacting the Big Apple.

After a dog was allegedly killed by a homeless man in a wealthy and progressive Brooklyn neighborhood, the town’s residents soon turned against each other in the name of "social justice," according to a New York Times report.

On Aug. 3, Jessica Chrustic, a White woman, was walking her dog through Prospect Park in Park Slope, when she was confronted by a Black man she had noticed in days past, muttering to himself, cursing, and carrying a staff, according to the Times report.

As she tried to skirt by the man, the individual hurled a bottle of urine at Chrustic and her dog, named Moose. She attempted to run, but Moose pulled towards the man in an attempt to defend his owner. The man whipped his stick around, grazing Chrustic, before connecting hard with the dog’s snout. Police arrived within minutes, but the man had disappeared. Soon after, Chrustic recounted the incident on the neighborhood watch app Nextdoor, and warned others about the man, providing his description. 

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New York Times article. (Fox News)

But then the next weekend, "Moose developed sepsis from a perforated intestine, caused by a blow Ms. Chrustic had not noticed. After emergency surgery, Moose died," The Times reported. 

Weeks went by with no arrest made. Neighborhood sleuths fervently discussed the situation, and many expressed support for Chrustic, but soon a vocal minority asked why the mostly White town seemed insistent on taking down a Black man who seemed homeless and "emotionally disturbed." Others called the man a "psychopath" and a "predator" who needed to face justice," the Times reported.

Martin Lofsnes, a 52-year-old dancer who had moved away from the neighborhood in 2020, saw the discussion on Nextdoor while trying to sell some belongings, and was appalled. He spoke about the "400 yrs of systematic racism which has prevented black people from building generational wealth through homeownership resulting in the extreme disparity we see today." He told residents that throwing the man in jail would solve nothing and urged them to set up fundraisers for him.

Other residents thought Lofsnes naïve, with some even saying he was "mansplaining."

"In a dog-loving, progressive enclave, where pushing law and order can clash with calls for social justice, what’s the right thing to do? How do you protect the public without furthering injustice against this man?" Times writer John Leland asked. 

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Chrustic and the vast majority of residents on Nextdoor asked anyone who saw the man to call 911 and wanted him to be arrested. She was disturbed by some comments that accused her of not cooperating with the police, and blaming her for Moose’s death, claiming she did not deserve the dog and failed to protect him. 

"People can be horrible," Chrustic told the Times. "And people also take it as an opportunity to vent. It becomes a politically divisive conversation I have no interest in being a part of."

The New York Times reported on the tragic death of a Brooklyn resident's dog, allegedly at the hands of a disturbed homeless man, and how it spurred a debate in a progressive neighborhood about "social justice" versus "law and order." (iStock)

Indeed, the incident appeared to spur conversations that extended far beyond the initial incident, with residents conversing extensively about policing, mental health, homelessness, and "progressive obstinacy."

Nextdoor discussion eventually led to the formation of a neighborhood watch. The creator of the group created T-shirts and logos, as well as a name: The Park Slope Panthers. People quickly took issue with the idea that a White man in financial services had utilized the panther name to take action against a Black man. 

At the group’s only meeting, they were interrupted by four people, all White, who criticized the Panthers.

"The opposite of what we need right now is more cops in this park and more people who want to be helping the cops in this park, when people are already being, like, chased down by the cops," one disruptor allegedly said. 

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The New York Times first reported on the story about the dog's death in Brooklyn.  (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo)

The group’s founder, who said he had never previously been the victim of hate as a gay man, was rattled after someone spray-painted the sidewalk outside his home days after the meeting. 

"Don’t be a Cop, Kris," the sign read. 

Two months later, after a brief ban from Nextdoor which was never explained, the Panther’s founder posted on the app. 

"Once again he posted the police sketch of Ms. Chrustic’s attacker, above the headline: STILL AT LARGE. PROSPECT PARK VAGRANT. VIOLENT AND SOCIOPATHIC," The Times wrote. 

Almost 30 people clicked the link and liked the post, before it was quickly taken down by Nextdoor. 

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Around the same time, Chrustic spoke with the paper about the incident. She was willing to speak outside the park in which the entire story began. The man who attacked her and her dog has still not been arrested. She expressed empathy for the man, and others who are homeless or struggling with mental health challenges, but stood by her position that the man was violent and needed to be removed from the park. 

"Are they waiting for somebody to die?" she said. "Are they waiting for someone to get hurt more severely? I was lucky. My dog was not. What happens to the next person? What happens if it’s a child? How many more people need to be harmed?"