Investment banker seen on video punching woman after Brooklyn Pride charged with assault
NEW YORK — An investment banker seen on video punching a woman in the face after Brooklyn Pride last month surrendered to police Monday morning and is being charged with one count of felony assault and one count of misdemeanor assault, said cops.
In a shocking video widely circulated on social media, a man later identified as Jonathan Kaye strikes a woman in the face so hard she reels backward and falls down on the street.
Another person can be seen in the background of the video lying on the ground as two people offer assistance.
The woman, who identified herself only as Micah P., told NBC 4 New York her nose was broken in four places after the blow, which took place around 10:30 p.m. June 8 on Fifth Ave. and Third St. in Park Slope.
“When we saw him walk by we immediately, like, kind of just turned to each other and were like ‘Don’t engage with that guy, he seems drunk or unhinged or something,’” Micah told the station. “He seemed very angry when he walked by.”
Kaye called them “useful idiots” and continued down the block until she asked him what he said, according to Micah’s account.
“He turned back around and just started rushing us,” she told the station. She took her bottle of water and splashed it at Kaye.
After saying she would not file a police report over the vicious punch, Micah came forward to lodge a complaint with the NYPD.
When she spoke to NBC 4 New York Micah told the TV station she would not make an official report to cops because she doesn’t have faith in the NYPD. Instead, she said she would be consulting with her lawyer on other approaches.
“I want this man to be held accountable for the harm he’s done on his community and the members of my friend group. So I want him to be a better person after this,” she told the station.
“I want him to take anger management. I want him to get therapy. I want him to not be in a position of power until he is able to be a better member of community.”
Police say the complaint for assault was made on June 12 by a 38-year-old woman who told police Kaye approached her and yelled at her, and she spilled water on him from a bottle she was holding.
“The individual then punched the victim in the face causing a broken nose, lacerations, and a black eye. The victim states that she lost consciousness after being punched and falling to the ground,” said a DCPI spokesperson.
At the time of the assaults Kaye was employed by Moelis & Co., a Manhattan investment bank, as a managing director who leads the global business services franchise.
Shortly after the first video became public, Kaye went on leave, but is now gone from the job.
“Jonathan Kaye has resigned and is no longer with the Firm,” a Moelis spokesperson told The Daily News.
