Two Nassau residents arrested over prior cases after Roslyn protest

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Two Nassau residents arrested over prior cases after Roslyn protest
Michael Motamedian, 20, of Westbury (left), and Jeremiah "Jerry" Bennett, 26, of East Meadow (right), both connected to an organization calling itself Long Island Peaceful Protest, were arrested Friday after walking with the organization in Roslyn Heights on June 30. (Images courtesy of Instagram)

Two Nassau residents were arrested in connection with prior cases after attending a protest in Roslyn last Wednesday, and one is contending that Nassau County and the police are attempting to intimidate those protesting police brutality.

Michael Motamedian, 20, of Westbury, and Jeremiah “Jerry” Bennett, 26, of East Meadow, both connected to an organization calling itself Long Island Peaceful Protest that attends various marches against police brutality across the island, were arrested Friday after walking with the organization in Roslyn Heights two days earlier.

According to Motamedian, the Heights protest took place “maybe two hours” after Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced the county’s Free Speech and Roadway Protection Protocols, which state that “demonstration organizers should contact the Community Affairs Unit of the Nassau County Police Department at least 24-hours in advance to identify their routes,” that “demonstrators may not block vehicular or pedestrian traffic,” and that “any person who fails to comply with a lawful order to stop impeding the flow of traffic on a public street or otherwise endangering public safety may be subject to enforcement action.”

Motamedian says that once he and other protesters arrived for the march, they were approached by Nassau County police, but little, if anything, occurred.

“Immediately upon our arrival, the police approached us, echoed [Curran’s] statement and they let us know that if we marched in the street, we were subject to enforcement,” Motamedian said. “They told us if we stay off main roads and stick to side streets we’d be fine, so we did that. We marched, they did not make any arrests, protests ended and we went home.”

But a Nassau police spokesman, Det. Lt. Richard Lebrun, said in an emailed statement to Blank Slate Media that Motamedian had violated the Roadway Protection Protocols.

“For everyone’s safety, [Motamedian] was warned prior to the protest to not obstruct traffic and during the protest, he repeatedly was asked to again not block traffic and to remain on the portion of the road that was closed,” Lebrun said.
The following day, on July 2, Motamedian received a call from his grandmother.
“I got a phone call from my grandmother, notifying me that there were four black SUVs and detectives at her house, saying they just wanted to talk and that there was a paperwork issue with something a few years ago,” Motamedian said.
The “paperwork issue” referred to the police’s claim that Motamedian had a “failure to appear” warrant on a 2019 drug charge. Lebrun said that once “detectives positively identified [Motamedian], a background check showed that he had an active bench warrant for a 2019 arrest for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 7th degree.”
“At the same time, police showed up at my friend Jerry’s house, saying he’d had an unpaid surcharge for something that had been dismissed,” Motamedian said.
As shown in an Instagram video posted to the account @lipeacefulprotest, plainclothes police officers went to Bennett’s house and arrested him for court fees relating to a prior criminal mischief charge. In the video, Bennett cooperates with the police, and the footage cuts off as one officer begins to handcuff him. Efforts to reach Bennett for comment were unavailing.
Motamedian says he was later told by police that he could come to the 3rd Precinct station in Williston Park to “sort it out in an hour,” and that he turned himself in on Friday, as shown in another Instagram video from the same account.
“I was arrested and they told me that I would be staying overnight,” Motamedian said.
He claims that he was “handcuffed to a wall” at the 3rd Precinct and, upon being taken to police quarters in Mineola, placed in “a cell with feces and urine everywhere.”
Lebrun’s statement disputes this.
“Prior to any prisoner being placed into a cell, that area is inspected by a police officer to ensure cleanliness of the cell,” Lebrun said. “In fact, since [the] COVID [pandemic] the cells have received extra scheduled cleanings.”
“In the morning, I was arraigned,” Motamedian said. “They said all files relating to the [drug charge] had gone missing, and that I had to prove I was innocent.”
While still in custody, Motamedian and, as he later learned, Bennett, were each served a summons for disorderly conduct and disrupting traffic during the Roslyn march. He also said that several others present at the protest received a similar summons, but could not identify how many people or who.
Motamedian and Bennett were released from police custody in Mineola on the morning of July 4, with over 40 of their fellow protesters there to support them. Both, as well as the others who received a summons, will return to court in Hempstead on Friday, according to Motamedian.
“I know that Executive Curran and [Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick] Ryder wanted to make an example of our group and others on Long Island that they are tired of and want to stop,” Motamedian said. “Unfortunately, it was me and my friend they had to make examples out of. Nassau County is a corrupt organization of thugs that like to intimidate people and go around the law.”

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