Hero Muslim Cop Assaulted, Suspect Charged Following Hate Crimes Unit Investigation

An NYPD officer and her son were the subjects of a second reported hate crime targeting Muslims this past week in New York City. the first was when Yasmin Seweid, 18, was called a "terrorist" and bullied during a traumatic subway ride last week. Over the weekend, Officer Aml Elsokary and her family were assaulted by a stranger outside their home in Brooklyn. 

Elsokary joined the police department following the 9/11 attacks. She is a decorated officer who received a medal for her bravery in 2014 when she saved a grandmother and her 1-year-old from a fire. On Saturday, she dropped off her 16-year-old son on Ridge Blvd. and 67th St. in Bay Ridge and parked her car at 5:50 pm. 

After returning to the scene, she was horrified to find her son being thrown by white man more than twice his age. She cautiously approached the scene, unarmed.

“ISIS (expletive), I will cut your throat, go back to your country!” the man told her. 

The suspect fled the scene and the New York Hate Crime task force immediately began an investigation. It didn't take long for them to uncover his identity.

On Monday Christopher Nelson, 36, was charged with menacing as a hate crime and arraigned on the felony charge. Elsokary was stunned; Nothing like this had ever happened to her. 

"I became a police officer to show the positive side of a New Yorker, a Muslim woman, that can do the job," Elsokary said in a news conference. "I help everybody, no matter what your religion, what's your faith, what you do in New York. I'm born and raised here."