Astoria woman can’t get police to help in harassment case

An Astoria woman has been repeatedly harassed by the same man for over two years, but the police have been “useless,” she said.

They have gone as far as asking her why she thought the man was only following her, implying, she said, that the harassment was her fault.

Police officers told her that they could not help her unless she got the name and address of the man herself. A representative for the 114th Precinct said that this is standard protocol.

“It’s a case of harassment. Will that go anywhere if she doesn’t have enough information? Probably not,” he said. “Usually when it comes to harassment, they don’t really follow up too much on it.”

But the police refuse to call the harassed woman’s building manager, who has said she will comply and give the police any information they need, including the man’s name and address. They will only get the information from the victim herself.

When asked why more wasn’t being done to help the woman, the 114th Precinct officer said that harassment is “not that serious, according to laws.”

Read the full story, which includes information on what New York State law really says about harassment, here.