Father of tourist killed in New York rips Hochul as ‘out of touch with the suffering of families like mine’

The father of a 20 year old Indiana Tourist shot and killed in New York City has torn Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul as “deaf to the pain of families like mine,” according to a report.

Ethan Williams, a sophomore studying film media at Indiana University, is said to have been on a ‘dream trip’ to New York when he was shot in the chest while sitting on the steps of an Airbnb with friends in Bushwick, Brooklyn, around 2:30 a.m. on October 24, 2020.

An arrest only took place last week when 26-year-old William Freeman was taken into custody.

Freeman reportedly told investigators he mistook one of Williams’ friends for a member of a rival gang who killed his cousin when he opened fire on the group more than two years ago.

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Over the objection of prosecutors, Freeman, who had nine prior arrests, was granted $350,000 bail by Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Leigh Cheng, according to the New York Post.

Williams’ father, Jason Williams, lambasted the decision, along with Hochul, during an interview with the outlet.

The elder Williams referred to an exchange between Hochul and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin during their first and only debate in October. Halfway through the debate, Zeldin lamented that Hochul “still hasn’t talked about locking up anyone who commits crimes.”

Hochul replied, “Anyone who commits a crime under our laws, especially with the change they made to bail, there are consequences. I don’t know. why is it so important to you.“

“Hearing one candidate say to another, ‘I don’t know why this is so important to you’ regarding rising crime in New York is deaf to the suffering of families like mine,” said Jason Williams at the Post. “Deaf in a tone towards women, like the jogger raped in Manhattan just last week. And deaf to outbreaks of violence against Asian Americans.”

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Jason Williams said “what happens in New York reverberates across the country”, warning that “the weight of silence from your elected leaders has not gone unnoticed”.

Freeman already had a warrant for his arrest in a petty theft case in January when he was arrested by NYPD officers on Thursday for not having a front license plate and not wearing a seat belt security, prosecutors said.

According to the Post, his case is largely sealed, but he was arrested for possession of a firearm on September 8, 2018, and in a domestic violence assault case on April 27, 2019.

“My son died because a criminal with nine previous arrests was free, walking the streets of New York,” Jason Williams told the Post on Monday. with national media coverage, not once have I received condolences from Mayor de Blasio, Mayor Adams or Governor Cuomo.

Although Freeman is still being held on $300,000 bail at Rikers Island on Monday, prosecutors and Jason Williams lamented that any bond was set by the judge in the first place.

“I would say regardless of your politics, Republican or Democratic, this is a serious issue for New Yorkers and an issue that you need to deal with before, God forbid, your phone rings,” Jason Williams said. “Much of the bail reform conversation has become nothing more than a boxing match on which elections are decided.”

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“I am also aware, unfortunately, that it has become a political issue. For my part, however, I do not see this as a political issue but rather a human one”, he added. “It doesn’t matter which side of the line you are on when you answer the phone to be told your child has been ‘shot. And Mr. Williams – that’s really bad. “”