Investigation Fund - Park Slope Victim

Forenote

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, share this, and help spread the word.

I want to extend an extra set of thank yous to those who could assist financially.

Everyone's contribution, monetarily or through spreading the word, has gone a long way to helping me get justice.

You are helping me rise above being a victim.

Going Public

I had never planned to go public with my identification.

But the lack of action by the NYPD, along with the escalating threats by my assailant, his employer, and his friends, pushed me to consider the option.

The final straw was when they began releasing my name and other information to other parties in the NYC area, in what I can imagine is an attempt to get me to hide.

The way I see it, I had two options:

Option 1 - I can cower in fear. This would let the NYPD ignore me. My assailant / his friends could continue to threaten and dox me unencumbered and make my life miserable until I finally gave up.

or

Option 2 - I can stand tall and push back. I still may not get justice - in the civil or criminal arenas. Some aspects of my life may get very uncomfortable. But as long as I try everything in my power to tilt the scales of justice in my favor, I can live with the outcomes I can't control.

I choose Option 2.

At the very least, all of this attention helps stop this guy/group of guys from doing this to anyone else and may even force NYPD to act.

Introduction

My name is Ryan.

I'm a regular blue-collar guy who lives paycheck to paycheck and has struggled since COVID.

I'm a BSA Eagle Scout. I've always strived to do the right thing, even when faced with a bad situation. I've donated what I could to worthy causes. I'm not perfect, and we've all had our struggles. But in general, I try to be a decent citizen and do my part to improve things.

I've never done a fundraiser before. I never thought I'd need to.

I try to go about my life, do my job, and get home safely at the end of the day so I can eat something good, get some rest, and do it all over again.

Then, on 12/18/2023, around 12:55 PM, I was assaulted and robbed while delivering holiday packages on 5th Street, at 5th Avenue, in Brooklyn, New York. The Park Slope neighborhood.

My assailant was a known neighborhood hothead. He regularly threatens people on 5th Street. It sounds like he's attacked other people in the neighborhood. He had threatened other drivers on this route before and threatened drivers from other national carriers. The street is terrified of him.

This was all unknown to me - I hadn't delivered to this route before, and I had no clue this guy existed before 12/18/2023.

Thanks to my assailant, I sustained a moderate concussion, memory loss, neck/spine pain, and other injuries. He broke my glasses, stole my cell phone, and is believed to have taken several of my dropped packages as well.

To make matters worse, the NYPD is refusing to identify my assailant and appears to be slow-walking his charges for an unknown reason. It's stopped me from getting a restraining order against him.

It's further stopped me from getting legal representation - no one wants to even consider a case when we don't even know who the guy is or the company he's related to. It's hidden behind shell companies, and the tow vehicle wasn't running proper licensing.

I can't work at the moment and have no money coming in. I have thousands in medical bills that my employer will likely try to fight any way they can. I have broken glasses and a stolen cellphone to replace. I have little savings after COVID.

This situation left me feeling hopeless - almost as if I have been victimized all over again. All during what should have been the merriest time of the year.

But I've thought long and hard, and I have decided that I will not be a victim just because someone decided I should be.

I refuse to let the NYPD slow-walk it, and I refuse to let this guy dictate how I go about my life. That's the only way I can move past this.

But to do so, I need your help.

Fundraising Purpose

I'm pretty bad at asking for help. It's always been a weakness of mine.

But at this point, I figured I should try. I think it's pretty clear I need help.

Critically, I need help replacing my glasses and cellphone. That would put me in an employable position once I'm cleared and able to return to work.

Then comes the hard part.

I need help investigating him, his company, and anyone related to this attack. I'm not seeking vigilante justice. But I can't even pursue them in a civil court until a lot more information is researched, documented, and requested from New York City and New York State.

Some attorneys, investigators, and crime researchers have expressed interest in taking this matter pro bono. But these aren't people from big firms, and they can't typically afford to cover the actual expenses. They donate their labor and time free of cost.

With no active identification, his employer hiding behind shell companies without proper licensing, and New York State / New York charging hundreds of dollars for basic records requests, documentation, license releases, etc, we need help covering these costs before the owner / his employer starts destroying records.

For example, just sending the litigation hold notices to the dozens of parties who may have footage but declined or outright refused to assist could cost $250+ in registered mail, etc.

The NYC and NYS research / documentation request fees could run into the thousands before we can uncover who's actually behind the shell companies.

COVID wiped out my savings. I can't investigate this on my own, and I can't afford all the expenses on my own.

But you can help us.

Getting this information before assets can be transferred, companies re-registered, and other vital information destroyed is really important.

I want to reiterate that the purpose of this fundraiser is not to seek vigilante justice or encourage anyone else to do anything along those lines. We are doing this the right way - even if my attacker and those covering for him don't want to play by the same rules.

Assault and Robbery

For those interested in more specifics:

On 12/18/2023, around 12:55 PM, I was assaulted and robbed while delivering holiday packages on 5th Street, at 5th Avenue, in Brooklyn, New York. The Park Slope neighborhood.

A local individual took offense with me "being in the neighborhood," despite me having over 50 packages in my truck for 5th Street alone.

After some ranting on his part, he proceeded to attack me while I was carrying packages to a customer's house.

He grabbed me from behind, wrapping his arms around my neck, and got me in a chokehold. He began punching on the side of my head. His punching broke my glasses, and he continued until I was able to break free.

As I broke free, he either punched or kicked me into a metal garden planter. The punch / kick sent me head-first over the planter. My head went into the concrete curb behind it.

I sustained a moderate concussion, memory loss, and other injuries. He broke my glasses, stole my cell phone, and is believed to have taken several of the dropped packages as well.

NYPD

Several eyewitnesses called 911. I don't remember how long it took the NYPD to arrive, and I don't even remember what I said to them for the first 5 - 15 minutes.

But I do clearly remember how upset I was by the NYPD's lack of interest and empathy.

They didn't seem to really believe I was attacked - even with the information from witnesses.

They didn't even seem to believe there was a truck at all.

I was so upset that instead of going straight to the hospital, I spent the next three hours+ searching for camera footage in the neighborhood.

After trying 21 neighborhood locations, I finally found one neighbor who had working cameras and was willing to search his files with me.

His location was too far away to catch the assault and robbery.

But it did catch the fleeing truck.

The detective didn't seem very interested in the image. Or the parties who had been threatened by him before. He didn't expect it to get solved and made clear it wasn't a priority.

So, feeling abandoned by the NYPD, I reached out for help from Reddit and the Internet. We found a truck from the company and then the perpetrator himself within 24 hours.

Everything we found was reported to the Detective Squad at Precinct 78.

Then, like magic, the NYPD changed its tune.

They claim to know exactly who the attacker is, the vehicle he was likely driving, the company he works for / is related to, and where he is almost 12 hours a day.

Yet nearly a week later, he still hasn't even been charged.

Is NYPD slow-walking its investigation? Possibly.

Did we stumble onto a bigger investigation? Possibly.

Do they not care? Possibly.

Conclusion

I may or may not get justice through the NYPD. But with your help, we can at least ensure it doesn't get ignored, and maybe get some justice on the Civil side.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, share this, and help spread the word.

I want to extend an extra set of thank yous to those who could assist financially.

Everyone's contribution, monetarily or through spreading the word, has gone a long way to helping me get justice.

Appeal For Information

If you have information regarding my assault and robbery, please reach out to Detective Francisco or Officer Borrero at Precinct 78 - Detective Squad in Brooklyn, New York City.