One Brooklyn
July 23, 2015
BROOKLYN, NY, July 23, 2015: Yesterday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams paid tribute to a Good Samaritan who tried to stop a fight between teenage girls at a McDonald’s in Fort Greene, as well as a retired NYPD detective who helped solve a 12-year-old murder case in Flatlands. Iver Whittingham, a volunteer with women’s empowerment group Battered 2 Beautiful, and retired NYPD Detective Richard Lyman were both declared “Heroes of the Month” for July in honor of their commitment to the well-being of Brooklynites in need. This is a continuation of Borough President Adams’ monthly “Hero of the Month” events honoring the accomplishments of Brooklynites from all walks of life.
“Brooklyn owes a debt of gratitude to Iver Whittingham and retired NYPD Detective Richard Lyman for their commitment to making our borough a safer place to raise healthy children and families,” said Borough President Adams. “Their stories exemplify the courage and tenacity that uniformed officers and everyday civilians can exert to make a difference in our communities. On behalf of One Brooklyn, I salute our latest ‘Heroes of the Month’.”
On May 14, 2015, Iver Whittingham was assisting at an event for Battered 2 Beautiful when he walked into a McDonald’s in Fort Greene to eat. When he saw two teenage girls fighting, he jumped in to break it up. According to video footage that later went viral, several young people jumped on Whittingham and attacked him after he tried to break up the fight; he was punched, kicked, and thrown against the restaurant counter before the group dispersed. When he tried to intervene a second time, he was jumped again by the teens and chased out of the restaurant. Whittingham and the 17-year-old girl attacked in the video were taken to Brooklyn Hospital, where he was treated and released. Even after this incident, he has said that he wouldn’t think twice about helping out another person under attack.
“It was a terrible thing that happened, but I hope something positive can come out of this by people learning that they shouldn’t harm people like that or abuse people like that,” said Whittingham. “I’m hoping that anyone that’s out there that’s going through any type of abuse in any way seeks help.”
“I would like to thank Iver for what he’s done,” said Aurora Gordon, founder of Battered 2 Beautiful. “One reason I founded Battered 2 Beautiful is because of situations like what happened in the McDonald’s. Clearly, those young ladies have something suppressed inside of them, going on with them, and what Battered 2 Beautiful wants to do is bring that out, so we don’t have the violence.”
Richard Lyman joined the NYPD in 1994, beginning his career in Brooklyn at the 63rd Precinct. In April of 2007, he joined the Hostage Negotiation Team and was a member until his retirement in 2013, when he was working at the Brooklyn South Homicide Squad. In his career, retired Detective Lyman affected approximately 500 arrests, with more than half of those being felony arrests. Back in 2003, he was put on the case of the murder of Lamethia McCollum – a pregnant mom shot in the head in the bedroom of her Flatlands apartment who was discovered by her 8-year-old daughter, Victoria. On June 24, 2015, Jefferson Jones, the father of McCollum’s unborn child, was finally sentenced for her murder; he will serve 17 years to life. Although Jones was the prime suspect from the beginning, there was not enough evidence for trial. But in 2012, after Jones was busted for a Queens home invasion, a gun found on him was identified to Detective Lyman as the same firearm used in McCollum’s murder. Detective Lyman then drove to the Ogdensburg penitentiary upstate to interview Jones in order to help connect the suspect to the crime.
“I don’t consider myself a hero, I just consider myself as having done my job,” said retired Detective Lyman. “I just thank God that we got the pieces of the puzzle to solve the murder.”
“Detective Lyman was being a little modest when he said he’s not a hero; we may not recognize it every day and say things like ‘hero’ to each other, but indeed [he is] a hero,” said Detective Borough Command Brooklyn Assistant Chief Patrick Conry. “I would like to thank the Borough President for recognizing the outstanding work that’s done day in and day out by detectives in the borough of Brooklyn, and indeed in the whole city of New York.”
PHOTOS
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams recognizes retired NYPD Detective Richard Lyman (left), who helped solve a 12-year-old murder case in Flatlands, and Iver Whittingham (right), a Good Samaritan who tried to stop a fight between teenage girls at a McDonald’s in Fort Greene, as “Heroes of the Month” for July during a ceremony in Brooklyn Borough Hall.
Photo Credit: Malcolm McDaniel/Brooklyn BP’s Office
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