Outrage in N.Y. Over Assaults

New York City officials vowed a crackdown Wednesday on predators and police alike, as evidence mounted that some officers did little to stop the sexual attacks on at least 24 women in Central Park--a near-riot in which roving packs of men sprayed victims with water, stripped off their clothes and tried to molest them.

Calling last weekend’s attacks “horrendous and inexcusable,” Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said a widening police investigation--aided by videotapes of an assault made by onlookers--would soon bring numerous suspects into custody. He also responded to growing protests that some officers were nonchalant or uncooperative when asked for help by the women, saying: “I’m pretty sure we can find some of these officers. They’ll be disciplined very seriously, including . . . removing them from the force.”

Some victims have complained that there were no police present to halt the violence when it broke out shortly after 6 p.m. as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade was ending. An NYPD spokesman said there were 4,000 officers on hand Sunday to police the festive parade, which took place on Fifth Avenue and drew an estimated 1 million people. Of those officers, 950 were deployed in Central Park, which covers 840 acres in the heart of Manhattan.

During the attacks, which went on for 30 minutes at the park’s southern edge, a crowd of 40 to 50 men sprayed women with water guns and began ripping off their clothes and fondling them as they tried to flee. “This is better than Disneyland!” shouted an unidentified man in a video of the attack shown on WNBC-TV. At one point, a honeymooning French tourist was stripped naked and molested while her husband was held down.

Initially, four women complained that they had been assaulted, but the numbers have been growing daily as more step forward. Some have provided graphic accounts of their harrowing ordeal in one of the city’s most popular and public places, within eyesight of hotels, shops and restaurants.

Deepti Hajela, an Associated Press reporter who was caught up in the turbulence with a companion, wrote that they were trying to leave the park near Columbus Circle when a group of rowdy men suddenly surrounded them: “Before I knew it, I was surrounded by what seemed to be 20 guys, all pouring water on me. . . . They were coming at me from all directions and they were grabbing my butt, and I was screaming. . . . I was trying to get away.” Hajela added that it was only when she left the park that she saw any officers who might offer her assistance.

Anne Peyton Bryant, who said she was thrown to the ground by the crowd and whose attack was captured on video, said she was in shock after the incident. But when she approached a nearby officer for help, the kick-boxing instructor said, he “acted like it was nothing” and failed to search for the men.

Police officials continue to deny that officers deliberately ignored the violence, but have indicated that the department is investigating the police response. They have said most of the officers in Central Park were not stationed in the southern section because it has not historically been the site of many crimes or complaints. Moreover, a large number did not carry radios, which would have enabled them to communicate more rapidly with other officers.

Shortly after the attacks, Giuliani and New York Police Commissioner Howard Safir tried to calm anxiety, pointing out that violent crime is down in Central Park and that it is statistically one of the safest parts of the city. A police spokesperson blamed the incidents on hot weather, plus “testosterone” and “stupidity” among the men.

But few are singing that tune now. Giuliani has met or spoken with seven of the victims, and has reached out to others as well. Meanwhile, city anger is growing over an attack that recalls the notorious 1989 “wilding” incident, in which young men attacked and raped a Wall Street investment banker as she jogged at night through the park.

Police have arrested two men in Sunday’s Central Park attacks, based on the accounts of several victims. David Rowe, 24, of Hempstead, N.Y., and Tremayne Bain, 23, of Brooklyn were charged with aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse and robbery in an attack on a British tourist. Lawyers for both men, who are being held on $10,000 bail each, said they were misidentified and were not near the site of the attacks.

Safir on Wednesday released the photos of seven more men wanted in connection with the crimes, predicting that others would be identified as well. Police have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to any of the other attackers.