Sharon Williams, 50, allegedly entered the nail salon on Tuesday afternoon and is accused of making anti-Asian statements and of “physically threatening people,” Det said. Denise Moroney.
Williams then went outside the salon and apparently started yelling and threatening at an Asian woman, police said. CNN reached out to the salon for comment on the incident.
In a complaint filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, it was made clear that the woman who was harassed outside was a secret officer and arrested Williams.
“Undercover Asian officials are working in areas that have had hate crimes to address the issue,” the NYPD tweeted Wednesday. “Yesterday, one of the officers was able to call in and arrest him during an anti-Asian incident in the @ NYPD5Pct, which was the first arrest of this new initiative.”
The NYPD said she was arrested for harassment related to a hate crime, serious racial / religious harassment and criminal trespassing.
The district attorney’s office eventually charged Williams with a second-degree felony, a felony. The charge is used when the defendant wants to “harass, irritate or threaten” another person on the basis of a belief and perception regarding the person’s race, color, national origin ‘or other identity markers, according to the statutory language.
Because of the charge, Williams was not eligible for bail, the district attorney’s office said. It was not immediately clear how Williams promised.
CNN called Williams’ lawyer for comment.
CNN’s Lauren M. Johnson contributed to this report.