Several NYPD officers were attacked and injured Wednesday as pro-police and anti-police protesters clashed on the Brooklyn Bridge.
At least four officers – including the city’s highest ranking uniformed cop, Chief of Department Terence Monahan – were hurt and 37 demonstrators were arrested, police said.
In footage of the incident tweeted by the NYPD Wednesday, a protester is seen swinging a long object down at the heads of a group of officers from a pedestrian walkway as they attempt to arrest someone at 10am.
Police photos of the aftermath showed a lieutenant with a bloodied face, a detective holding a bandage to his head, and a bicycle officer helping other officer dress a head wound. Their injuries are all said to be serious.
Monahan meanwhile, who is seen the video dressed in a white shirt, suffered a fractured his finger in the scuffle and other minor injuries, officials said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who earlier this month slashed NYPD funding by $1 billion, has yet to speak out about the incident, despite being active on social media throughout Wednesday.
Several NYPD officers were attacked an injured Wednesday as pro-police and anti-police protesters clashed on the Brooklyn Bridge (Chief of Department Terence Monahan shown in white)
In footage of the incident tweeted by the NYPD Wednesday, a protester is seen swinging a long object down at the heads of a group of officers from a pedestrian walkway
Monahan meanwhile, who is seen the video dressed in a white shirt, suffered a fractured his finger in the scuffle and other minor injuries, officials said
Chief of Department Monahan was one of several NYPD officials lauded last month for taking a knee with demonstrators in the city on June 1.
De Blasio’s silence about Wednesday’s incident has drawn the ire of hundreds online, who are calling for the mayor to step down from office.
‘Where is the outrage?’ asked NYC Scanner on Twitter. ‘The NYPD Chief of Dept along with 3 other officers were brutally attacked today, some needing the hospital, yet [Mayor de Blasio] has tweeted ELEVEN tweets since the incident (7 hours) – all of them about police reform – and not ONE tweet condemning the attack.’
Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard B. Kerik called for Governor Andrew Cuomo to oust de Blasio as mayor immediately.
‘NYPD Chief of Department attacked by #BlackLivesMatter thugs! Bill de Blasio should be removed from office by Gov. Cuomo!!!!’ he blasted.
DeAnna Lorraine, once a Congressional opponent on Nancy Pelosi, added: ‘This is what you created, Bill de Blasio. I’d ask if this was the goal, but I bet it actually was the goal.
Monahan and the other injured officers were marching with a pro-police group led by local clergy when they were met on the bridge by anti-police activists, some of whom have been camping outside City Hall in recent weeks to demand severe cuts to police funding.
In a longer clip of the clash obtained by DailyMail.com, an all-out brawl is seen erupting between a dozen protesters and a group of NYPD bike patrol officers.
One protester is seen charging towards an officer, knocking him to the ground and striking him several times as he lay on top of the flattened cop.
A number of other scuffles break out between the demonstrators and cops around them.
As Monahan, who is seen perched on the other side of the fence, attempts to grab one of the protesters, another activist moves in the strike him several times in the face.
The action prompts a cycle unit cop to rush in to his superior’s aid, striking the culprit a number of times before attempting to hoist him over a fence into the custody of Monahan and another officer.
As Monahan, who is seen perched on the other side of the fence, attempts to grab one of the protesters, another activist moves in the strike him several times in the face
The action prompts a cycle unit cop to rush in to his superior’s aid, striking the culprit several times before attempting to hoist him over a fence into the custody of Monahan and another officer
A bicycle officer helping a fellow officer dress a head wound after the clash on the bridge
Other Police photos of the aftermath showed a lieutenant with a bloodied face, a detective holding a bandage to his head
Chief of Department Monahan was one of several NYPD officials lauded last month for taking a knee with demonstrators in the city on June 1
‘If the mayor were doing his job properly, we wouldn’t have this issue. If the DAs were prosecuting the laws, we wouldn’t have these issues. What we are seeing right now is chaos in the city of New York and the victims are minorities,’ Ed Mullins, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, told CBSNY.
Some people in the pro-police group marched with a banner that said, ‘We Support the NYPD.’
The leader of that group said they were calling for an end to a recent spate of violence, including the shooting death of a 1-year-old boy in Brooklyn.
The protesters near to where the incident took place scattered as more police swarmed in and several people were taken to the ground and arrested.
At one stage, several officers and bicycles gave chase to one fleeing protester and surrounded him. The protester charged into a number of the bicycles, knocking officers to the ground, PIX11 reported.
The demonstrator was then taken into custody, according to the network. The NYPD were seen loading between 15 to 20 protesters into an NYPD van at 10:05am.
An officer is seen pulling the hair of a Black Lives Matter Protester as he pulls her toward the ground on the Brooklyn Bridge
In total 37 people were arrested following the clash on Wednesday morning, police confirmed
A New York City police officer grabs a Black Lives Matter protester during a confrontation near a pro-police rally and prayer vigil near City Hall
One protester is seen being taken into custody on the Brooklyn Bridge Wednesday morning
‘They literally arrested about 20 of our folks, as this protest, stop, we’re going to arrest Black Lives Matter protesters and then allow this protest to peacefully come by,’ said Jonathan Lykes, Black Youth Project 100 to ABC of the arrests.
‘They didn’t want a counter protest, they didn’t want democracy, they didn’t want freedom in this moment,’ he continued.
Wednesday’s demonstrations were the latest in a wave of protest activity across the country since George Floyd was killed May 25 by Minneapolis police.
Those gathered participated in singing after speeches encouraging people to stop the violence.
‘We’ve come to turn down the walls of injustice and social inequality. We are here to build walls and build bridges that unite people,’ one protester told Fox 5.
The first few nights of protests in New York City were marred by looting, unrest and violence inflicted both by and on police officers. Since then, protests have largely been peaceful.