Councilmember Zhuang speaks out following accusations of biting a police officer

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One day after allegedly biting the arm of an NYPD officer while at a protest, Councilmember Susan Zhuang addressed the public for the first time to shed some light on the story. MORE: NYPD: Councilwoman Susan Zhuang arrested, charged with felony assault at protest According to the NYPD, Zhuang was charged after police say she bit an officer. Zhuang spoke out at a community gathering in Gravesend to provide insight on what she describes as a chaotic scene where she helped out an elderly woman at the protest. “We are unarmed citizens, we come just to protest against the unnecessary shelter here,” said Zhuang. “I was protecting [an] 81-year-old grandmother… and a lot of seniors… I couldn’t understand what happened.” Video footage shows Zhuang being put in handcuffs by NYPD officers, and witnesses back up Zhuang’s claims regarding helping out an elderly woman who fell. The protest that took place on 86th Street is not the first – earlier this month hundreds of residents protested the construction of a shelter in that neighborhood. Councilmember Zhuang says that Wednesday’s protest was supposed to be peaceful and that the mistreatment that she and others faced is unacceptable. “I never imagined this would happen to me okay I'm still alive today but that should not happen to anyone,” said Zhuang. “I'm glad I'm able to protect our grandmother in the community but even with whatever happened to me, [it] shouldn't have happened." "