Chi Ossé Arrested During Brooklyn Anti-Eviction Protest Supporting Carmella Charrington

Four people were arrested on Wednesday in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn after gathering in support of Carmella Charrington, a homeowner fighting eviction from her longtime family home, as marshals arrived to carry out the eviction at a brownstone on Jefferson Avenue.

“After Brooklyn Council Member Chi Ossé was arrested and later released on Wednesday during a protest over an eviction in Bedford-Stuyvesant that the elected official claimed was tied to an alleged deed theft, prompting fellow electeds to renew pressure on Gov”

amNewYork

Democracy Now! reported that Brooklyn Councilmember Chi Ossé was among those arrested, saying he was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed as protesters chanted, “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?”

amNewYork

The protest drew a police response when supporters could not get through, and police were called, according to Democracy Now! and NBC News.

NBC News said Ossé was charged and taken into custody after his office said he was trying to help a constituent who was at risk of losing the Bedford-Stuyvesant home she has lived in for six decades.

NBC News also reported that Ossé was released later Wednesday afternoon and that he said, “I was manhandled by three men. They slammed me against the concrete. I believe there was a knee on my back at some point.”

The NYPD said Ossé pushed past officers who attempted to stop him from blocking the entrance and physically resisted attempts to take his hands and arms, according to NBC News.

Fox News described video showing Ossé being thrown to the ground and arrested, and it quoted Ossé saying, “I will absolutely be filing a misconduct report against the officers who slammed me on the ground.”

At the center of the protest was whether the eviction was tied to “deed theft,” a term used by Charrington and housing advocates to describe what they say is a criminal practice involving forgery, deceit, or fraud to illegally transfer property ownership without rightful owners’ knowledge.

Democracy Now! said Charrington and local housing advocates argue that the sale of her property to investors in 2024 was a form of “deed theft,” and it described the practice as “a criminal practice where predatory speculators use forgery, deceit or fraud to illegally transfer ownership of properties.”

Brooklyn Paper

The state and the property’s new owner dispute that characterization: Gothamist reported that New York Attorney General Letitia James and the limited liability company that purchased the property say it is not a case of theft.

News12 said the Attorney General’s Office claims the situation was not a case of deed theft, describing it instead as a property dispute stemming from conflicting claims from heirs.

PIX11 said the state says Charrington’s case “may not be the case,” and it reported that the developer argues it “legally purchased the property in 2024 via the Fulton County Probate Court.”

NBC News said Charrington told NBC New York, “This is a family property...And we were trying to explain this to the courts and let the courts know that whatever they did was illegal,” while the state attorney general’s office said it “conducted a thorough review” in 2025 and found it was a dispute “stemming from competing claims from the heirs and relatives of the property’s former co-owners.”

Fox News quoted the New York City Department of Finance defining deed theft as occurring “when criminals record fraudulent deeds, mortgages or other liens against a property without the owner’s knowledge or consent.”

The dispute over Charrington’s eviction unfolded against a broader backdrop of deed-theft complaints and policy proposals, with multiple outlets citing complaint totals and describing how the situation escalated on Jefferson Avenue.

“Four people were arrested on Wednesday in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn after gathering in support of Carmella Charrington, a homeowner fighting eviction from her longtime family home”

Democracy Now!

Gothamist reported that city and state officials received about 3,500 complaints of deed theft between 2014 and 2023, and it said Mamdani’s office noted the state received another 517 complaints of deed theft last year, mostly concentrated in Brooklyn and Queens.

Democracy Now! said that from 2014 to 2023, officials reported 1,500 complaints of deed theft in Brooklyn alone.

News12 said city marshals and sheriff’s deputies arrived on Jefferson Avenue around 7:30 a.m. to carry out an eviction and locate the father of homeowner Carmella Charrington.

The NYPD timeline described by amNewYork said officers arrived at 7:55 a.m., issued repeated verbal warnings, and began making arrests at 9:27 a.m.

The City’s account in The City described the marshals calling the NYPD for backup as protesters blocked access to the house and making four arrests, while Ossé was taken to a local precinct and released in the early afternoon.

In the midst of the confrontation, Ossé’s office said the arrest was “the result of deed theft and the ongoing displacement of Black homeowners in Bed-Stuy,” according to Brooklyn Paper.

The arrest and the underlying eviction dispute triggered sharply different interpretations from elected officials, the state, and the police, with each side emphasizing different facts and consequences.

Democracy Now! featured New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé arguing that he could not allow a “Black family within Bed-Stuy” to be removed, saying, “In my soul, I could not let that take place. I could not see a family, a Black family within Bed-Stuy, removed from a home,” and he called for a moratorium on evictions where deed theft is suspected.

Fox News

Gothamist reported that Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the creation of the Office of Deed Theft Prevention, and it quoted Mamdani saying, “Deed theft not only disproportionately robs Black and brown New Yorkers of their homes, it also robs them of the stability that their homes provide,” while also saying, “City government has too often stood idly by while deed theft occurs, rather than acting to prevent it. We are bringing that era to an end.”

At the same time, the state’s position was that the eviction protest was not a deed theft case: News12 said the Attorney General’s Office reviewed the case in April of last year and claimed it was “not a deed theft, but a property dispute,” and NBC News quoted the attorney general’s office saying it “conducted a thorough review” in 2025 and found it was a dispute “stemming from competing claims from the heirs and relatives of the property’s former co-owners.”

The police account also differed from Ossé’s, with NBC News reporting that the NYPD said Ossé physically resisted attempts to restrain him.

Fox News added that the NYC Sheriff’s Office and NYC Marshals showed up with a signed order from a judge to evict, and it quoted a police spokesperson describing the sequence of arrests and Ossé’s actions.

Ossé’s own statements after the arrest emphasized both injury and policy, as he told NBC New York, “I was manhandled by three men,” and he told Politico’s account that “She has the power to put an end to deed theft,” while a Hochul spokesperson said the governor was “relieved” he was out of custody and committed to $40 million in new funding for the Homeowner Protection Program.

After the arrest, the political and legal stakes shifted toward policy changes and ongoing court processes, with multiple outlets describing new government structures and proposed protections.

“Mayor Zohran Mamdani is establishing a new office to fight deed theft in the wake of the violent arrest of a New York City councilmember who was protesting outside a brownstone that residents say was stolen”

Gothamist

Gothamist said Mamdani’s formation of the new Office of Deed Theft Prevention comes two days after Ossé was arrested outside a Bed-Stuy brownstone at 212 Jefferson Ave., and it reported that Mamdani said the office would have the power to investigate fraud claims and intervene to halt evictions while complaints are investigated.

Gothamist

Gothamist also reported that Mamdani appointed veteran homeowner attorney Peter White to head the office, and it quoted White saying, “Combatting deed theft is resource intensive for legal service providers and therefore, long-standing, committed support is essential,” while also noting White did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democracy Now! said Mayor Zohran Mamdani established the Office of Deed Theft Prevention and quoted him, “The theft of a home is the theft of a family’s future.”

The policy debate also included whether to impose an eviction moratorium, with Democracy Now! reporting that Ossé is calling for a moratorium on evictions in cases where deed theft is suspected, and amNewYork reporting that elected officials renewed pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul to halt evictions in suspected deed-theft cases.

USA Today also provided statewide complaint numbers, saying the AG office data showed 149 in 2023, 222 in 2024, and 517 in 2025.

Meanwhile, the dispute’s immediate legal timeline remained active: amNewYork said Charrington spent five days on Rikers Island and was released on April 21, police said, and The City reported Charrington said, “It’d be devastating. It’s four generations of irreparable harm.”