By Gina Martinez
A Brooklyn rapper received a plaque from the NYPD for helping a young girl after she was forcibly touched on the Q53 in Elmhurst last month. The 112th Precinct gave 21-year-old Moise Morancy a Good Samaritan award to thank him for restraining a 36-year-old man until police arrived.
According to police, Morancy was the only person on the bus to call out the suspect, Pablo Levano. On Oct. 25 Levano sat next to the 16-year-old girl and tried to engage her in conversation, he then allegedly squeezed and rubbed her inner thigh without her consent, according to a criminal complaint file by the Queens district attorney’s office.
Levano has been charged with forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child and harassment, the Queens DA said. He is expected in court on March 23, 2017
Morancy saw the inappropriate touching and quickly confronted Levano and held him down, reprimanding him until authorities arrived, police said. The entire incident was caught on tape, and went viral. Millions shared the video and applauded Morancy for stepping up and defending the young girl.
On Nov. 17 the 112th Precinct held a small ceremony to honor Morancy. Captain Robert Ramos presented him with the plaque and thanked him for taking action.
“We’re here today to congratulate a Good Samaritan in our community,” Ramos said. “Someone who stepped up and went above and beyond. Our saying is when you ‘see something say something’, and not only did he say something, but he actually did something. He went a step further and for that were going to honor him today with this plaque.”
Morancy said this experience changed his views on police. A year ago he was caught on tape being manhandled by police in a subway station and he said he has now had a change of heart.
“I really want to thank you guys for this opportunity,” he said. “I really appreciate you guys for the work that you do and this is really a life-changer for me because I’m using the platform I have to educate other people, especially other young men and women of color to have a better understanding of the NYPD’s purpose, which is just to help us. A couple years ago I was assaulted, and even though there are some bad apples, it doesn’t mean the whole tree is bad. I know my predecessors would be proud, this is really important to me, I will keep this forever.”
Morancy has written a song about the incident called “No means no”
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
