Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 21
Police say they have charged one person with felony assault, and 24 others with disorderly conduct following a Saturday protest in Brooklyn against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Police arrested a total of 41 people at the protest in Bay Ridge. Footage posted on social media shows police punching at least three protesters who were pinned to the ground before they were arrested. Police charged a 38-year-old woman with felony assault for reportedly kicking a police officer in the knee as she arrested her, according to court records.
On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams and top NYPD officials doubled down on their support of the police response to the protest.
“I take my hat off to the police department, how they handled an unruly group of people,” said Mayor Eric Adams in a TV interview on Monday morning, calling the punching an “isolated encounter.”
The mayor did not address the settlement in his response to police actions on Monday.
In another video taken by independent reporter Katie Smith, an officer punched a man at least six times as he lay on the ground. A police commander also kicked at the man, though the video does not show whether he made contact.
In a third incident filmed by reporter Talia Jane, an officer shoved a man into a signpost then threw him onto the ground. He was pinned down by officers as one punched him.
“I saw no evidence of actions by protesters today that warranted such an aggressive response from NYPD,” local Council member Justin Brannan said in a post on X.
Source: Gothamist
