New York ice cream store owner who allegedly hurled racist abuse at BLM activists sued for false 911 call

Suit is first time attorney general using recently enacted law making it illegal to submit false police report based on race

A New York ice cream store owner who allegedly hurled racist abuse at Black Lives Matter activists is being sued by the state for falsely claiming they threatened to shoot him.

The suit is the first time the attorney general has used the recently enacted law that makes it illegal to submit a false police report based on race.

Last summer, protesters gathered outside an Upstate New York ice cream store, Bumpy’s Polar Freeze, after the owner David Elmendorf allegedly said that he would not hire Black workers in a series of text messages that circulated on social media.

Mr Elmendorf reportedly reacted with fury, shouting “If you come over here I’m going to shoot you,” before unleashing a string of racial epithets and threatening to “kill all of you” while brandishing a gun.

He then called 911 and falsely reported that the group of Black protesters had threatened to shoot him, according to authorities.

Mr Elmendorf is now being sued by the New York State Office of the Attorney General under the passed following an incident in New York City’s Central Park in which Amy Cooper, a White woman, called police alleging that a Black man, Christian Cooper (no relation) had threatened her and her dog.

A video of their confrontation went viral. Mr Cooper, a birdwatcher, had actually asked Ms Cooper to put her dog on a leash in that particular area of the park. Ms Cooper was criminally charged, but charges were dismissed after she completed a course of counselling.

The lawsuit filed on Wednesday by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James states: “Elmendorf violated various New York laws over the course of two days in June 2020 when he made multiple armed threats, including death threats using derogatory racist language, against peaceful Black protesters and made false reports to the police regarding those protesters.”

Mr Elmendorf “categorically denies all of the allegations in the lawsuit,” his attorney, James Mermigis told The Washington Post. “My client did not say any of these things.”

“I personally would never represent a racist if I thought they were a racist,” he added.

Mr Mermigis says that for the past five years approximately 75 per cent of the staff at his client’s store had been Black or Latino.

“Those who make racist and violent threats will be held accountable by my office with the full weight of the law,” Attorney General James said in a statement. “The charges against David Elmendorf should serve as a warning that hate crimes will not be tolerated on my watch and we will not allow any individual to use the color of someone’s skin as a weapon.”

The suit against Mr Elmendorf stems from an incident on 30 June 2020 when activists stood on the porch of a private home near the ice cream store. He allegedly initially used racist slurs and threatened them with a baton and promised to return with a gun.

Mr Elmendorf then called the police and made the allegation that the group had threatened to shoot him.

Five police patrol cars were dispatched to the scene to speak with the activists. No arrests were made.

Later in the day, Mr Elmendorf threatened a group of 50 peaceful protesters with a .22 caliber air rifle and shouted racial slurs, as well as allegedly saying that he would run them over with his truck.

The suit states that when Mr Elmendorf advanced with the rifle, protesters fled the scene. He is said to have yelled: “I’ll kill all of you monkeys.”

After driving away, he was pulled over by police for ignoring a stop sign. They found the rifle, a scope, and ammunition in his vehicle.

He was arrested and charged with two counts of menacing in the second degree. He pleaded not guilty.

Mr Mermigis refutes this account of the incident saying that the protests were not peaceful, customers were intimidated, rocks were thrown at the store, and attempts made to break down the door.

He also denies that his client used racial slurs or threatened to kill anyone, but admitted he had brandished the gun at protesters a couple of days after the 30 June incident when they allegedly beat his friend.

In a twist to the narrative, Mr Mermigis said that the text messages that sparked the protests had not been written by Mr Elmendorf, but had been spread by Schenectady County Attorney Christopher Gardner as part of an ongoing confrontation with the business over the enforcement of coronavirus safety measures.

Mr Gardner denies this accusation and told The Post that he was preparing a lawsuit against Mr Elmendorf about noncompliance with Covid safety measure when he learned of the texts and decided to bring the case to the attorney general’s office.

Mr Mermigis said he will deny every allegation and seek the “real truth” to vindicate his client.