An open letter of concern about the Rockville Centre Roxen Road assault

On June 18, two residents of our community, a husband and wife, had a violent exchange with a pack of teenagers who also live in our village.

I have received hundreds of phone calls and numerous letters about this incident and I am stopped on the street every day by residents who want to talk about it. All are outraged; they are demanding answers and justice.

I try to be a calm and reserved man, but I must admit that this outrageous assault has my blood boiling. I am infuriated that such a thing could happen in our village.

While I don’t have personal knowledge of the events, and the facts could become the subject of legal proceedings, it is my understanding that a mother of three was out walking her dog, minding her own business, when she was approached by these out-of-control young men and was made the recipient of a disgusting verbal onslaught.

Later, her husband came to the aid of his shaken wife and the two of them went looking for an apology. What these men delivered instead was a brutal, undeserved, bone-breaking beating.

I will not tolerate this kind of behavior and this level of disrespect for our community while I sit in Village Hall as your mayor. All of our residents should be able to feel safe to go out at night, to take a walk or put out the garbage or walk a dog.

People have said I have been quiet about this case. I assure you that it has not been brushed aside. It is a major priority of our board and our police department. The police commissioner briefs me daily about the progress on this investigation. It is on my mind 24/7.

As I said in the press last week, the village board and I have directed our police commissioner to pursue this case aggressively and I believe he, with the help of outside agencies, has been doing so.

I want to thank all those neighbors on Roxen Road who saw something and said something and those who came out of their houses to directly intervene and stop this horrific attack.