The New York Police Department said at least 29 people were arrested – and at least 11 policemen were injured – on Monday, when a crowd of protesters gathered to celebrate the 92nd birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Manhattan.
Hundreds of people who heard speakers outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn attended the so-called Black March for Liberation, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall, where they met with a large presence of NYPD officials, WNBC, the TV station owned by NBC station in New York, he reported. videos posted online showed police officers wearing masks and holding flexible zippered fists, facing protesters on the street that night.
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The police said police officers started making arrests “when a woman using an iPhone to record protesters” in front of David N. Dinkins Municipal Building on 1 Center Street, had “protesters moving to harass her”, a spokeswoman NYPD voice confirmed to Fox News.
The officers formed a circle to protect and remove the woman, and then glass bottles were thrown at them. The spokeswoman said other officers used a public address system “to give clear and audible instructions for protesters to get out of the way”.
A total of 29 individuals – including 12 men and 17 women between the ages of 20 and 41 – were arrested between Chambers and Center streets. All but two people reside in New York City’s five districts – one resides in Rhode Island, the other in New Jersey.
Of the 29 detainees, 21 received subpoenas for disorderly conduct, misdemeanor, while seven received an attendance ticket and one woman had her prison suspended. Three individuals were also cited for resisting arrest, while one was also assaulted with an illegal assault.
A total of 11 uniformed NYPD members were injured. Six of them refused medical attention, including a captain who was hit in his helmet by a glass bottle. The remaining five were treated and released to hospitals in the region with several minor injuries, including pain and swelling in the ankle, pain and bruising in the left leg, an injured arm, an injured elbow and an injured shoulder.
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“When you march from Brooklyn over a bridge, you try to block traffic on the bridge. You are bringing bottles. You are bringing graffiti. You are spray-painting our city. This is our city. Painting to burn our city,” he said. New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea in an interview with local cable news channel NY1 on Tuesday morning.
These are not “actions that are caused by policemen, so this is news for the AG”, Shea continued with the main police officer of the Big Apple noting that they are “caused by people who want to destroy our way of life and our city and we will not let it happens. ”
The incident comes a week after New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed a federal lawsuit against the NYPD and its leadership on the treatment of protesters during the demonstrations that broke out in the summer after George Floyd’s death.
“Once again, we are seeing and hearing reports of NYPD officers violating New Yorkers’ rights. The images of police using excessive force against peaceful protesters are alarming and cause deep concern,” James said in a statement on Monday. “Less than a week after opening a case against the NYPD because of these very exact issues, we saw police officers exhibiting the same behavior.
“As we explained in our process, this is an old pattern that must be stopped. These New Yorkers were marching in the spirit of Dr. King, who taught us that peaceful protest is the most powerful force in the struggle for freedom, equality, and justice for all, “he added.
The lawsuit specifically blames NYPD, New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea and NYPD department head Terence Monahan “for not addressing this long-standing pattern of abuse for not training, adequately supervise and discipline officers to prevent misconduct, despite the knowledge and public admission that it violated the rights of New Yorkers. “
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It includes dozens of examples of alleged excessive force and other misconduct since May 2020, including the unjustified use of batons, pepper spray, bicycles and a crowd control tactic known as “kettling” against peaceful protesters, as well as the arrest of doctors and legal observers. James is seeking systemic reforms for the NYPD and the implementation of a federal monitor to oversee the NYPD’s policing tactics in future protests and to ensure compliance with the law.