Participants who joined in a peaceful protest against police brutality in the Mott Haven area of the Bronx on Jun. 4 were surrounded and corralled by police at the end of the march route at East 136th Street and Brook Avenue ahead of the 8:00 p.m. nightly curfew, an action protestors said escalated tensions between them and police, and ultimately led to violence.

 

In one video tweet, posted by the group Anonymous, some but not all police are seen dressed in riot gear, and protestors are seen being pushed forward by police. Some appear to trip and fall over. One female protestor, whose name is unknown, is heard saying the group could not breathe behind their masks, amid the tight crowd due to being penned in. On the same day, temperatures reached a maximum of 88 degrees.

 

The same protestor is heard saying that by 7:45 p.m., the police were intentionally trying to create a circumstance where the crowd would get upset and hostile. The protestor vowed not to cave to the pressure, saying the protestors would not put their hands up, would not drop to their knees, that they were human beings, and that if the police were going to take them, they would take them standing up.

 

Twitter user, Emily S. Zulwach, said in another post that police surrounded and beat protestors. Alan Williams posted a video on Twitter of what took place at the event, saying, “Police in the Bronx began arresting peaceful protestors as soon as the curfew went into effect”.

 

Another Twitter user called Ghoul posted a video to Twitter dated Jun. 5, referring to protests in the Bronx on Jun. 4, saying, “The cops kettled us and started beating us right before curfew hit. We did not instigate any violence. #ACAB”. Norwood News is unable to verify the exact location of this particular video, though it does appear to be at Brook Avenue and 136th Street.

This was yesterday in the Bronx. The cops kettled us and started beating us right before curfew hit. We did not instigate any violence. #ACAB pic.twitter.com/R4TueKQVnS

— G H O U L (@ghouldisco) June 5, 2020

Williams continued, “They trapped them on this narrow street and began making arrests. They even arrested members of the National Lawyers Guild.” Norwood News reached out to Williams directly for more information. “The kettling started at least ten minutes before the curfew so people couldn’t leave to go home even if they wanted to,” he said. Kettling is a specific term mainly used in the context of protests and essentially means corralling or containment.

 

Williams’ post was retweeted by Bronx Assemblyman Victor Pichardo, who tweeted, “What is the reasoning for your actions in the #Bronx last night @NYPDnews??” He added, “The protestors were acting peacefully!”. He also called on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to end the curfew. 

 

What is the reasoning for your actions in the #Bronx last night @NYPDnews??

The protestors were acting peacefully! @NYCMayor & @NYGovCuomo end the curfew now! https://t.co/4udy3W9NKM

— Victor Pichardo (@Vpichardo86) June 5, 2020

 

In other video footage captured on social media by a user called Chesimard, police can be seen from an aerial viewpoint preparing to surround the protestors. Chesimard provided accompanying live commentary in the video posted to Twitter which showed police blocking off one end of the street. It also appeared to show initial clashes between police and protestors.

Warning: Some of the accompanying audio contains some bad language.

 

Peaceful Protest in The Bronx Turned VIOLENT BY NYPD. ❗️THREAD❗️ pic.twitter.com/lc8gY3QRLU

— Chesimard (@StarkVonDoom) June 5, 2020

 

In the context of enquiries by Norwood News about reported arrests in the area, the NYPD later reported that at approximately 6:30 p.m. in the vicinity of 136th street and Brook Avenue, police observed individuals screaming and yelling at police, throwing plastic bottles with unknown liquids inside, and acting in a disorderly manner. They said that one member of the crowd jumped over a fence and attempted to throw a wheel barrow at an officer.

 

In other videos posted to social media, police are seen apparently trying to talk with the crowds. In another, an announcement can be heard on a loud speaker advising people about the curfew and requesting people to go home.

 

These are not the tools of peaceful demonstrators.

Conversely, these ARE the tools of criminals bent on causing mayhem & hijacking what we all know is a worthwhile cause.

These items were seized from individuals arrested in the Bronx last night. pic.twitter.com/tM39bKHkjq

— Commissioner Shea (@NYPDShea) June 6, 2020

Police said the crowd remained at the location for over two hours and were ordered numerous times to disperse but refused. They said five officers suffered injuries, and approximately 260 individuals were taken into custody. Norwood News asked the NYPD how the protestors could have left if they were corralled by police. We have not yet received a response to our enquiry.

 

Police said that items recovered from members of the group at the location included hammers, wrenches, gas masks and additional items that they said could have been used to cause injury. They said those arrested were charged with various offenses including unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct and violation of local law.

 

They added that a majority received C-summonses under Administrative Code 3-108, which is any knowing violation of a mayoral issued emergency order. The 8 p.m. curfew is an example.

 

In reference to the report of items recovered from the area, Williams said, “I saw what the commissioner said he rounded up, and for the type of threat they made it out to be, it’s quite a large difference”. He added, “I’m sure if you arrested protestors in Williamsburg [Brooklyn], you would get similar items, but they chose the Bronx because it’s on a majority-minority neighborhood”.

 

Norwood News spoke with a local resident at the location of the protest some time after midnight in the early hours of June 6. Recounting the events of the previous evening, the man said there were around four large police vehicles in the area from around 7:30 p.m., and that police were arresting people and loading them into the police vehicles until well into the night.

 

Williams said when he was providing jail support [to protestors] at a later stage, he spoke to other people who were being released following their arrests who said they had been carrying out deliveries on the street, or were in transit in the area for reasons other than the protest at the time of their arrests.

 

The Bronx District Attorney’s office later wrote that there were 332 arrests in total in the Bronx on the night of Jun. 4, with 297 receiving summonses because of breach of curfew, and 34 charged with unlawful assembly and other crimes, though the specific location of each arrest was not specified. An office representative also said that one person resisted arrest.

 

 

On the morning of Jun. 5, police vehicles were seen transporting those arrested to Bronx County Courthouse for processing.

 

Source: mixed up names.
Rodney Harrison will be the new #NYPD Commisioner. He is now the Chief of Detectives. Harrison is African American.
Fausto Pichardo will be Chief of Department. Terence Monahan resigned after arguing with Mayor de Blasio. preliminary but major shakeup.

— Ti-Hua Chang (@tihuachang) June 7, 2020

 

Following more days of protest, de Blasio has since announced the end of the nightly curfew, and the suspension of some NYPD officers for misconduct which took place during the recent Citywide protests.

 

On Jun. 7, rumors of other changes to the leadership of the NYPD began circulating on social media, with NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison, an African-American, tipped to take over as Police Commissioner and NYPD Chief of Patrol, Fausto Pichardo taking over as Chief of Department. Those rumors were shut down by the Mayor during a press briefing on Jun. 8.

 

Saying “I hear you” is not enough. Here’s what I’m doing right now to make our city more just: pic.twitter.com/PoTu1xgxP2

— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) June 7, 2020

De Blasio also announced new policing reforms and a reallocation of the City’s budget, cutting the NYPD budget in favor of youth programs.“The details will be worked out in the budget process in the weeks ahead, but I want people to understand that we are committed to shifting resources to ensure that the focus is on our young people,” de Blasio said.

 

BREAKING: @NYCMayor announces new policing reforms in New York City: pic.twitter.com/aWQgz0NBDK

— City of New York (@nycgov) June 7, 2020

 

In other mayoral announcements, it was confirmed that Phase I of the City’s re-opening plan begins on Monday, Jun. 8.