A city parks worker was arrested Thursday and charged with a hate crime for allegedly hanging a black doll by a noose in the Bronx headquarters of the Parks Department.
Fariz Ahmemulic, 28, faces charges of aggravated harassment as a hate crime for the Dec. 20 incident, in which a black baby doll was found hanging by its neck from a metal chain, police said.
The letters "KKK" were also found scratched in three places in a bathroom, police said. Ahmemulic was suspended without pay, the Parks Department said.
The incident happened at Ranaqua, the Parks Department's Bronx headquarters located at 1 Bronx River Parkway.
Parks department spokeswoman Vickie Carp said in a statement: "We are gratified that an arrest has been made in this case, but regret that the suspect is a fellow employee."
It was not clear if Ahmemulic had an attorney, and no telephone listing could be found for him.
