Mayor Eric Adams Says Administration ‘Will Review’ Video of Cop Punching Pro-Palestine Protestor in Brooklyn
New York Police Department officers were caught on camera punching pro-Palestine protestors in Brooklyn on Saturday. On Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that his administration “will review” what he called an “isolated incident.”
During an interview with New York’s 1010 WINS on Monday, Adams responded to questions about the pro-Palestine protest in Brooklyn where police, including a supervisor for the NYPD, were seen punching protestors repeatedly, among other assaults. Adams said these were “isolated” incidents, and would be reviewed by his administration. He added: “But those police officers did a commendable job under very difficult circumstances.”
On 1010WINS, Mayor Adams says his admin “will review” the “isolated incident” of an NYPD supervisor repeatedly punching a pro-Palestine protester during Saturday’s Bay Ridge demo.
“But those police officers did a commendable job under very difficult circumstances,” he says.
— Chris Sommerfeldt (@C_Sommerfeldt) May 20, 2024
The New York Times reported that 40 protestors were arrested in the Bay Ridge neighborhood in Brooklyn, and three of them were assaulted by police. Katie Smith, a Twitter/X user, caught one of those assaults on camera:
NOW: As pro-Palestine protesters reached an intersection, officers rushed in and grabbed people out of the crowd seemingly at random
Officers tackled multiple protesters to the ground and then proceeded to punch them pic.twitter.com/fyPfA8emyM
— katie smith (@probablyreadit) May 18, 2024
The attack on the same protestor was also caught by user Peter Hambrecht from a different angle and posted to Twitter/X:
The NYPD is seen slamming this protestor to the ground punching his chest with his hand around their neck. They never once resisted. Their head was also bleeding as they were transported to the police van.
All for walking in the street.
One of the many brutal arrests from… pic.twitter.com/f3sub6HFty
— Peter Hambrecht (@peterhvideo) May 18, 2024
Another video by user Talia Jane shows an officer throwing a protestor into a signpost and then flinging him to the ground:
NUMEROUS violent arrests INSTIGATED by NYPD SRG, pct cops LAUGHING as they attacked people, including credentialed press — who they grabbed as he was moving onto the sidewalk, pulled into the street, and piled on top of.
DCPI present and did NOTHING. pic.twitter.com/XD7LWC24sC
— Talia Jane ❤️🔥 (@taliaotg) May 18, 2024
Speaking with Fox 5 New York’s Curt Menefee and Rosanna Scotto on Monday, Adams was asked about the actions by police. Adams claimed that while he supported the rights of the protestors to express their views, “What you don’t have a right to do is to ride up on top of city buses to hold up almost 68 calls for emergency services, and those vehicles couldn’t get through. You don’t have a right to spit in the face of police officers and destroy property. You don’t have that right.”
Adams again called the incidents of violence “isolated” and said that the videos posted online didn’t portray “the totality of what happened before and after.” When Menefee asked about what the NYPD claimed happened, including protestors spitting on officers, Adams said:
[W]hen you look at the videos, the NYPD released the video of many of these incidents of items being thrown at police officers, of some of the actions that [were] taking place, this is unacceptable. And 38 people that were arrested, many of them came from outside the city and outside the Bay Ridge area. So you can have the right to protest, celebrate, do those things in the city. You don’t have the right to destroy our city with violence or reckless behavior.
Watch the video above via FOX 5 New York on YouTube.
