The restaurateur who last month accused town police of harassment and racial profiling – claims they denied – was arrested Tuesday on a felony charge of strangulation and misdemeanor assault against one of his employees.
Jimmy Ying, the owner of Ying’s Wings and Things at Sheridan Drive and Eggert Road, attacked the worker during an argument, according to Capt. Joseph F. Carosi.
“We received an anonymous call that there was a disturbance at Ying’s last night at about 10:15 p.m. The patrol officers got there and went into the establishment and were able to find a victim of an assault. He’s a 26-year-old employee,” Carosi said.
The attack occurred when Ying asked the employee, whose name was not released, to perform a task and he declined, according to a statement from the worker.
“The employee told officers, ‘I was working when Jimmy Ying wanted me to do something.’ The employee told Ying ‘it can wait’ and this apparently prompted Ying to become quite upset and according to the victim, Ying put him in a chokehold from behind and choked him to the point of unconsciousness momentarily,” the captain said.
The worker then landed on the floor and suffered a cut to the back of his head requiring stitches at a local hospital, where he was treated and later released, police said.
The Tuesday arrest is the sixth time Ying has been charged by police since Sept. 14. All of the other charges are counts of criminal nuisance and stem from when he started renting part of the restaurant to a promoter for Saturday night parties.
Ying was arrested on a criminal nuisance charge in November after a Cheektowaga man was wounded by gunfire in the parking lot outside a non-alcohol DJ party at the restaurant. Authorities alleged Ying failed to maintain order among his patrons and operated an “unruly” premise.
The restaurant owner subsequently complained at a Town Board meeting that police did not want black people in the town.
In addition to Ying voicing complaints, six African-American employees, including delivery drivers and cooks, spoke on behalf of their boss, saying that they had been unfairly targeted for traffic stops and given tickets for minor infractions.
Police Chief Anthony J. Palombo had denied the allegations.
Ying, also known as Haibo Jiang, is being detained pending his arraignment later today in Town of Tonawanda Court. The second-degree strangulation charge is a felony and the second-degree assault charge, a misdemeanor.
email: lmichel@buffnews.com
Jimmy Ying, the owner of Ying’s Wings and Things at Sheridan Drive and Eggert Road, attacked the worker during an argument, according to Capt. Joseph F. Carosi.
“We received an anonymous call that there was a disturbance at Ying’s last night at about 10:15 p.m. The patrol officers got there and went into the establishment and were able to find a victim of an assault. He’s a 26-year-old employee,” Carosi said.
The attack occurred when Ying asked the employee, whose name was not released, to perform a task and he declined, according to a statement from the worker.
“The employee told officers, ‘I was working when Jimmy Ying wanted me to do something.’ The employee told Ying ‘it can wait’ and this apparently prompted Ying to become quite upset and according to the victim, Ying put him in a chokehold from behind and choked him to the point of unconsciousness momentarily,” the captain said.
The worker then landed on the floor and suffered a cut to the back of his head requiring stitches at a local hospital, where he was treated and later released, police said.
The Tuesday arrest is the sixth time Ying has been charged by police since Sept. 14. All of the other charges are counts of criminal nuisance and stem from when he started renting part of the restaurant to a promoter for Saturday night parties.
Ying was arrested on a criminal nuisance charge in November after a Cheektowaga man was wounded by gunfire in the parking lot outside a non-alcohol DJ party at the restaurant. Authorities alleged Ying failed to maintain order among his patrons and operated an “unruly” premise.
The restaurant owner subsequently complained at a Town Board meeting that police did not want black people in the town.
In addition to Ying voicing complaints, six African-American employees, including delivery drivers and cooks, spoke on behalf of their boss, saying that they had been unfairly targeted for traffic stops and given tickets for minor infractions.
Police Chief Anthony J. Palombo had denied the allegations.
Ying, also known as Haibo Jiang, is being detained pending his arraignment later today in Town of Tonawanda Court. The second-degree strangulation charge is a felony and the second-degree assault charge, a misdemeanor.
email: lmichel@buffnews.com