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NYC March For Philly Police Shooting Victim Leads To Property Damage, Dozens Of Arrests
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Oct 28, 2020
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Oct 28, 2020
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The NYPD arrested nearly 30 people, including a legal observer and a photojournalist, during a demonstration against police violence that saw bursts of property damage on Tuesday night.
The protest was organized as a solidarity march for Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by West Philadelphia police on Monday while reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis. The killing has sparked fierce, at times violent, protests in Philadelphia.
In Brooklyn, some marchers smashed the windows of banks and bus stops, destroyed police vehicles, and set at least one trash fire, according to those who attended the protest.
"Everyone was talking about how that’s our sister city, we gotta be out there for Philly," said one Brooklyn protester, who declined to give his name for fear of police surveillance. "It was definitely spicy."
He added that the protest was also related to the election, and the fact that the NYPD's unions have come out in support of President Trump.
As approximately 100 marchers snaked through Downtown Brooklyn, members of the group tossed rocks into the windows of a Chase Bank and Urban Outfitters, and set off fireworks, videos show. Nine police vehicles and 39 commercial properties were damaged, NYPD spokesperson Denise Moroney said in a statement.
The police responded by attempting to kettle the group, marchers said. At one point, officers surrounded a vehicle and used their billy clubs to bash the windows, before the driver sped off through a line of bike cops. Five officers suffered minor injuries, according to police.
It was unclear whether the driver was part of the demonstration.
While blaring a message ordering protesters to disperse, police began pulling people off the sidewalk and arresting them, according to marchers. A photographer and legal observer with the National Lawyers Guild were among the dozens taken into custody.
"They took his green hat and everything," said the protester, who told Gothamist he shared a cell with a legal observer. "We were getting on the sidewalk and they just started making arrests."
The NYPD has faced accusations in recent months of deliberately targeting legal observers, whose role in monitoring protests is codified in the department's Patrol Guide.
A spokesperson for the NYPD did not respond to Gothamist's inquiries about that arrest.
A tagged police vehicle in Brooklyn on Monday
With the election less than a week away, the NYPD has said they are preparing for large-scale demonstrations. A memo sent by Police Commissioner Dermot Shea earlier this month warned that officers should be ready for deployment ahead of "one of the most highly contested presidential elections in the modern era."
On Sunday, a brawl erupted in Manhattan between Trump supporters and anti-Trump demonstrators, leading to 11 arrests. Several demonstrations are planned for the coming week.
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Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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