There was some static in Columbus Park in Chinatown yesterday when the NYPD reportedly tried to stop a group of senior citizens from playing music.  We're still trying to determine exactly how this incident devolved to the point where a bloodied elderly man was dragged away in handcuffs by mace-wielding cops, but here's video of the ugly scene. ( Translation note: The angry crowd of seniors is chanting "Let him go!") 

The woman who shot the video, Anda Wu, tells us, "I was walking by the park and I saw a crowd of elderly people screaming, 'Let him go!'  My first thought was for my mom, who was in the park.  I went over there to see if she was still there, and when I got there I saw the police arresting this man and pushing him against the tree.  He was fighting back, but there were four cops. 

"They threw him on the ground, and tried to put the handcuffs on him.  All the elderly were yelling, 'The police are hitting him!'  And one of the cops said if you guys are coming any closer I'm going to mace you.  Then he took out his baton as if he wanted to hit someone, but he didn't.  They were supposedly making too much noise.  But he wasn't playing the instrument anymore when I got there." 

Wu, a freelance interpreter, tells that every Saturday and Sunday for years now a group of senior citizens have gathered in the park to sing songs and make music, and she heard that someone called and complained about the noise. " Maybe some of the new people who have moved into the neighborhood didn't know the elderly come and play their instruments."  We contacted the NYPD for more information and we'll update if we hear back.