NYC Councilman Says He Was Detained Due to Race

NEW YORK – A City Council member and a city aide say they were pushed around and detained by police at the West Indian Day Parade because of their race.

Councilman Jumaane Williams and Kirsten John Foy spoke Tuesday outside City Hall.

They said they were accosted by officers while walking along a blocked-off sidewalk.

Both men, who are black, say they tried to show their city IDs to officers but their efforts were ignored.

Foy says an officer knocked him to the ground and pushed his face into the grass.

Williams says he thinks it happened because he is a "35-year-old black man with dreadlocks."

No charges were filed. The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.