Rhinebeck Police Department Press Release
Date of press release: 06-01-2021
Officers of the Rhinebeck Police Department investigated an incident that occurred on Thursday May 27, 2021 at about 11:10 AM in the area of 48 East Market Street in the Village of Rhinebeck. A person came to the police station to report that an “older” male was just assaulted by a “young” male that was accompanied by a female walking a dog. The person that reported this incident provided a vehicle description to the Police Department of the vehicle that the “older” man was driving.
An officer on patrol arrived at the incident location within three minutes and did not locate any persons that fit the description of the alleged incident nor the vehicle that was provided in the vehicle description. The officer was able to locate several witnesses to the incident an obtain witness statements as to what occurred. The officer then patrolled to a local medical provider where a vehicle was located that fit the description that was provided to the police department. The officer was able to locate the driver and identify him as the “older” man that was assaulted. The officer interviewed the gentleman who provided the same scenario as the witnesses on the scene.
The investigation by the Rhinebeck Police Department concluded that the incident occurred over a vehicle failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a cross walk. The investigation further established that the initial aggressor was the “older” male. The gentleman did not wish to pursue criminal charges in the incident. The gentleman was also assisted at the incident location by a passerby who did administer first aid and was in the medical field.
The officer patrolled the Village in an attempt to identify the other person involved in this incident, however the patrol was unable to locate the person.
It is not the policy or practice of the Rhinebeck Police Department to issue a press release where an arrest was not made. However, in this situation, a local news source posted on social media about this incident with very misleading facts or allegations causing public alarm and debate amongst members of this community. We felt that the facts at hand needed to be made public to clear the air and to quell public alarm.
Village of Rhinebeck Police Department