Haitian-American college graduate and hip-hop artist Moise Morancy was riding the Q53 bus when he says he saved a teenage girl from being groped by a drunk man sitting next to him and decided to step in, but he ended up getting arrested when police arrived before a black sergeant released him.
Morancy posted a video on Facebook where he is seen holding down a man, accusing him of “touching the girl without her permission” and repeatedly shouted at him to “not touch her again”.
At first, Morancy says no one else on the bus helped him, but then, eventually, one passenger started videotaping the struggle. When police from the 112 precinct arrived, they put both the suspect and Morancy in handcuffs until, Morancy says, they figured out who was the perp and who was the hero.
Describing the encounter on a bus in Queens on his Facebook page later,
So I’m on my way home from the studio finalizing my debut mixtape “Chronicles of a Ghetto Rose” & I’m sitting at the back of the bus when this drunk guy gets on, saying all types of sexual shit to this little girl sitting next to me. At first he started caressing her hand and I saw how uncomfortable it made her…so she let go and put her hands in her pocket. He then proceeded to forcibly do it again. In the process of doing so, he hit my knee and I told him “Yo, bro. Don’t touch me.” Then he started getting aggressive and saying “I can do whatever I want, you BLACK PIECE OF SH*T!” I was so upset that I kept to myself after because I didn’t want the problem to escalate. Out of nowhere, he had the audacity to start feeling on this 15 YEAR OLD girl’s leg. And no one said anything. So I yelled at him so loud that the bus stopped and everyone stared. I said “Yo, my n*gga! Don’t f**king touch her again!
You heard? Cuz if you do, We gon’ problems!” He replied “I’m a real nigga, so try me.” Instantaneously he reached for his pocket and lunged at me. So I had to defend myself. I quickly gave him a couple combos to the face, knees to the nose and elbows to his neck. After doing so, I told the people on the bus to record and help me restrain him but no one stepped up…until this brave brother Odeh Hammoudeh lent me a hand.
The police eventually came but started arresting me as well. I was so confused and felt criminalized. Why is this happening to me? I was told that I no matter what the circumstances were, I still assaulted him. They put me in the back of the car as I tried to explain myself. He sexually harassed this child! Shortly after this black police officer who was the Sergeant opened the door, congratulated me and ordered to release the handcuffs. To see a black man in a position of power right the wrongs, gave me a little bit of hope for the N.Y.P.D. As I always say not all cops are bad. The good ones just need to step up.
Regarding the incident, I believe that every woman and child should feel protected. I urge people to take action when things are unjust. What do you think? Was I wrong for stepping in?
A bystander then filmed him as he held the man down and shouted at him until the police arrived. According to Mosie, no one helped, and when police arrived, they arrested Morancy for assault despite his attempts to explain the circumstances. It wasn’t until Odeh Hammoudeh stepped in that Morancy was released.
“Shortly after this black police officer who was the Sergeant opened the door, congratulated me and ordered to release the handcuffs. To see a black man in a position of power right the wrongs, gave me a little bit of hope for the N.Y.P.D. As I always say not all cops are bad. The good ones just need to step up,” Morancy wrote.
A suspect, 36-year-old Pablo Levano, has been charged with forcible touching.
Here’s the picture and caption from his facebook page.
Special thanks to the good officers of the NYPD who dedicate their lives to make ours better! I learned a lot from our encounters…I’m happy to say that this was a positive one! It’s funny…the young girl I defended gave me this rose and the sergeant said that I was “the rose that grew from concrete.” ? Funny how life works….
Morancy video’s has gone viral with more than 2.3 million views on Facebook alone.
“I had to do what I had to do for the girl,” Morancy said. “And I urge other men to step in to intervene when someone’s being sexually assaulted. It’s disgusting!”
Watch the video of Moise being taken in handcuffs below.
