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NYPD Aggressively Disrupts Peaceful Vigil For Brooklyn Cyclist Fatally Struck By Bus Driver
By
David Cruz
Published Sep 12, 2020
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Bret Lehne
By
David Cruz
Published Sep 12, 2020
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A peaceful vigil for a Brooklyn cyclist killed after getting struck by a bus driver last week ended with an aggressive police encounter that was captured on social media.
The vigil for Sarah Pitts, a prosecutor with the Brooklyn District's Attorney's office, began Friday evening with riders cycling as part of a march from Fort Greene to McCarren Park in a show of solidarity for Pitts. Pitts, a Crown Heights resident, was hit by the charter bus while riding her bicycle on Wythe Avenue near Williamsburg Street the morning of September 7th. The vigil was widely attended by members of the Black Lives Matter movement, in which Pitts, 35, was a frequent attendee of their rallies against racist police brutality over the summer. Pitts was the third cyclist to be killed while riding in the city this month. The driver, an employee with Excellent Bus Service, in the incident remained at the scene and was not charged.
The vigil and march was also accompanied by the NYPD, on hand as cyclists and marchers made their way to McCarren, with a heavy presence of
police cars and officers involved, according to eyewitnesses. As night settled in, Bret Lehne, who was among the hundreds of mourners at McCarren Park, was on hand to see police getting closer to the crowd, impeding cyclists from leaving through one exit in the park. It resulted in a scuffle between attendees looking to leave, according to Lehne.
A video posted on social media shows a chaotic scene in the park, where officers are seen shoving attendees, many of whom were dressed in white to mark the occassion. Riders For Rights, a protest advocacy group for cyclists that organized the protest, immediately gathered attendees to form a line, warning attendees to "not engage with police."
"You have seen what their violence has done to this, and in so seeing you have found strength developed in these 100 days and long before that," an organizer can be heard in the video.
But things took a turn after a maskless officer pushed his way through the line of attendees, prompting hordes of officers to follow and ordering cyclists to leave the park. It's unclear what prompted the police to grab the attendee.
"It was very challenging, people were deeply offended by their presence at the vigil," said Lehne. "But we successfully got our side calm, and then an officer in [a] white shirt crossed the gap and grabbed one of our members, unprovoked."
The NYPD said no arrests were made or summonses were issued.
In a statement to Gothamist, Riders For Rights said the officers "lacked empathy, decency, and basic common sense."
"They staked dozens of officers at a public vigil. They pushed and cursed at mourners who were not only grieving but actively deescalating their aggression. No arrests were made, no weapons were found. Who, we ask, or what exactly were they protecting? The park? The grass at McCarren? The NYPD solved nothing and helped no one," read the statement, adding that "taxpayers of this city, paid the police to disparage, intimidate, disrupt and assault us while we grieved the loss of our friend. Sarah Pitts spent her life spreading love and fighting against the very thing that plagued her wake. We invite you to sit with that for a second. Then join us in the streets."
Joel Rivera, another witness who's been actively involved Black Lives Matter movement, said the confrontation with police was completely unprovoked.
"The police came and broke the bike circle that they made, started pushing the bikes aside. And then that's what actually caused the aggression and caused people to start getting more angry. And then they had like, I would say, at least like 25 cops all lined up in the park," said Rivera, who was surprised over the level of aggression.
"I honestly believe that they are not here to protect or serve," said Rivera. "And they always want to meet us with aggression, because I feel like that's their answer to everything. So seeing that, I mean, it is very disappointing but it's not a surprise how, how they can manipulate things and turn situations around, and twist the narrative. When in reality, they made things so, so like, way worse than what it actually was."
Tagged
nypd
black lives matter
cyclist death
David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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