MELTDOWN

Upstate New York Ice Cream Man Sued Over False BLM Police Report

David Elmendorf stands accused of threatening Black Lives Matter protesters outside his Schenectady shop, then lying to police that he was the one under attack.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday announced a lawsuit against David Elmendorf, the former owner of Schenectady, New York, ice cream parlor Bumpy’s Polar Freeze, for filing a false police report last year against Black Lives Matter protesters outside his shop. “This is my office’s first lawsuit targeting false, race-based police reports in New York,” James tweeted. After Elmendorf was exposed in June 2020 for saying he refused to hire people of color, BLM protesters showed up at Bumpy’s to peacefully voice their opposition. But Elmendorf “brandished several weapons and made death threats in an effort to stop legal protests, while simultaneously using a number of offensive, racial epithets when referring to Black protesters,” says a press release issued by James’ office. “Following the altercations, Elmendorf called the police and falsely claimed protesters were brandishing weapons as he used their race and color as reasoning for the call.” In a follow-up tweet, James stated, “Hate crimes will not be tolerated on my watch.”