New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea praised the city’s police force for how it handled protests over the death of George Floyd.
“What we saw in New York City last night and the night before was not about peaceful protest of any kind,” Shea said in a statement Saturday. “What it was, quite frankly, was a mob bent solely on taking advantage of a moment in American history, to co-opt the cause of equality that we all must uphold, to intentionally inflict chaos, mayhem, and injury just for the sake of doing so.”
“In no small way, I want you to know that I’m extremely proud of the way you’ve comported yourselves in the face of such persistent danger, disrespect, and denigration,” he added.
Demonstrators set fire to police cars and clashed with officers throughout the city over the weekend. More than 345 people were arrested, and 33 officers were injured in the unrest, according to the New York Times.
Several videos that spread on social media showed two NYPD SUVs ramming into protesters in Brooklyn who blocked the road and threw items at the vehicles. Another video showed an officer shoving a woman to the ground.
Here is the overhead… pic.twitter.com/US6Qqhkz3O
— Rob Bennett @ ? (@rob_bennett) May 31, 2020
Update: Got her permission with a fuck yeah. The cop pushed her so hard at Barclays & she flung back. She is tiny. Now she’s in the ER after a serious seizure. I’m waiting for updates but have to wait outside because of COVID-19. Please keep my protest sister in your thoughts. pic.twitter.com/MqV0QJ0D8h
— Whitney Hu 胡安行 (@whitney_hu) May 30, 2020
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also defended the police force.
“It is a troubling video, and I wish the officers hadn’t done that, but they were being surrounded by people who were attacking that vehicle and they were in a situation where it was getting more and more dangerous, and they had to get out of there,” he said late Saturday.
“If those protesters had just gotten out of the way and not created an attempt to surround that vehicle, we would not be talking about this situation,” the mayor added.
