Yesterday's mostly peaceful protests turned ugly last night, as demonstrators broke windows along Second Avenue and Broadway, and set fire to multiple police vehicles around Union Square.
Citywide, NBC 4 reported that 345 people were arrested and 33 police officers injured as the protestors and cops clashed late night around several different hotspots, including Union Square.
Along Second Avenue between Houston and 14th Street, windows of each bank branch were smashed ... as well as at the Verizon store and Urban Outfitters. Bus stops and LinkNYC kiosks were also vandalized. In addition, trash cans were upturned and tossed into Second Avenue. There were also reports of several mattress fires ...
[Photo by Steven]
[TD Bank at 1st Street via Stacie Joy]
Smaller businesses were also hit: The front windows were broken at Kona Coffee and Company between Third Street and Fourth Street, The Gray Mare between Third Street and Fourth Street, Plant Food & Wine at Fourth Street, Cooper's Craft & Kitchen at Fifth Street, Le Fournil Bakery at Seventh Street and B&H between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.
The protests, which took place in all five boroughs, were in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody.
A handful of protestors — said to be remants of the day's early peaceful demonstrators — smashed windows along Second Avenue last night. Le Fournil, the French bakery at 115 Second Ave. at Seventh Street, was among the local businesses to suffer damage.
[Reader-submitted photo]
[Photo this morning by Steven]
There were unconfirmed reports that someone attempted to start a fire out front. (Several trash cans and mattresses along the Avenue were set ablaze.)
Ownership shared this on the Le Fournil Instagram account...
Protestors fanned out across the city today, including two groups who marched through the East Village late this afternoon.
The protests, like others around the country and NYC in recent days, were sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis this past Monday.
One group, numbering in the hundreds, entered Tompkins Square Park at Ninth Street... and exited on Seventh Street and Avenue B... Steven shared these photos...
Another group, numbering at least 1,000, with a large NYPD presence following along, entered the East Village via Second Avenue.... EVG reader Ben Lebovitz shared these photos on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street...
The blocks-long assemblage turned on Seventh Street, then went south on First Avenue... these reader photos show the size of the crowd on First Avenue ...
... who stopped on Fifth Street, shouting "Black lives matter" and, "No justice, no peace." The NYPD had blocked off Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, the location of the 9th Precinct.
While the groups in the East Village early this evening were described as peaceful by passersby, ABC 7 reported that there were at least three dozen arrests in the city today related to the various protests.
There are now reports of broken windows along Second Avenue (the TD Bank location at First Street and Le Fournil Bakery at Seventh Street). There are also reports of several burning vehicles around Union Square.
— Jessica Cunnington (@JessicaNews12) May 31, 2020
My photographer Greg Giglione just took this video of two NYPD Vans being lit on fire, near Union Square. A police officer yells that there are bullets inside and for everyone to stay back. We have heard several mini explosions. @CBSNewYorkpic.twitter.com/cl9yLCtLkE
— Natalie Duddridge (@NatDuddridgeTV) May 31, 2020
Several NYPD officers involved in the violent arrest on Avenue D on May 2 will face disciplinary charges, The New York Timesreported.
Per the Times:
Investigators with the New York Police Department have recommended misconduct charges against three police officers, including one who sat and knelt on the neck and upper torso of a man he was arresting, a maneuver similar to the one used in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, two people familiar with the matter said.
It is unclear what charges the officers, including Francisco X. Garcia, will face in connection with the investigation of the May 2 incident ... one of several police encounters that led to accusations of racial bias in the enforcement of social distancing, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an internal police investigation.
Departmental charges are expected as soon as next week.
Garcia, who's stationed at PS4 on Avenue C, was stripped of his gun and put on a desk assignment following the ugly confrontation when an attempt to enforce social distancing rules escalated.
Garcia and his partners originally approached a man and a woman outside the corner deli on Ninth and D over a lack of social distancing, police officials previously said. This encounter reportedly led to an arrest on marijuana and weapons charges.
As seen in a widely circulated video shot by a witness, Garcia, who was not in uniform, then walks toward several bystanders, including Donni Wright, a nearby resident who works for the NYCHA. Police officials originally said that Wright took a "fighting stance," which led Garcia to shout the n-word and brandish a taser before wrestling Wright to the ground and kneel on his head.
Back to the Times:
Afterward, the officers filed charges accusing Mr. Wright of assaulting a police officer, but a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office said on Friday that prosecutors had dropped the case on May 18. The spokesman, Danny Frost, said prosecutors were still reviewing the officers’ conduct.
As previously reported, the city has paid out nearly $200,000 to settle lawsuits involving Garcia, an eight-year veteran.
According to a complaint filed in 2013, Garcia allegedly told a woman eating with her partner inside a Harlem restaurant that she "dressed like a man." When the woman attempted to get his badge number, Garcia allegedly pushed her, then replied: "Take a fucking picture of it, fucking dyke." The city settled that suit for $8,500.
A year later, Garcia was accused of wrongfully arresting a man trying to visit his girlfriend inside a Washington Heights NYCHA building. According to a federal lawsuit, which the city settled for $27,500, Garcia "forced [the man] to the floor face-first," then punched, kicked, and clubbed him.
Meanwhile, Wright "filed a notice of claim announcing his intention to file a $50 million lawsuit against the city."
His lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, also called on the district attorney to bring criminal charges.
"The video, pictures of the truth, clearly call for a criminal investigation of this matter," Mr. Rubenstein said. "The evidence is there."
For further reading: Gothamist has coverage of last night's protest — touched off by the death of George Floyd — in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, which saw the NYPD dousing the crowd with pepper spray and using batons during arrests. More coverage at PIX11.
The NYPD was spotted at Caffé Bene this morning on Avenue A at 13th Street.
As the above photo by EVG regular Lola Saénz shows, the burglars — said to be wearing ponchos, masks and thick gloves — smashed part of the front glass door and made off with the shop's e-bikes.
Dozens of protestors, accompanied by community leaders, gathered outside Police Service Area 4 (PS4) on Avenue C and Eighth Street last evening to speak out against racial bias and aggressive enforcement of social-distancing arrests.
PS4 serves 25 New York City Housing Authority developments for four NYPD Precincts. It's also the station house for officer Francisco Garcia, who was stripped of his gun and put on modified duty following an ugly confrontation last Saturday on Avenue D and Ninth Street.
The incident, caught on video, shows Garcia punching and tackling Donni Wright, a local resident and NYCHA groundskeeper, while shouting the n-word, brandishing a taser and subsequently kneeling on Wright's head.
The Rev. Kevin McCall of the Crisis Action Center was said to organize last night's caravan protest, which included three stops at precincts in Brooklyn. This came on the heels of a New York Timesreport that revealed that 35 of 40 people arrested by the NYPD for not socially distancing in Brooklyn were black.
"[T]hey were beating us up before social distancing," local activist Shaheeda Smith told PIX11 last night. "Right here on the Lower East Side, they're doing this to Donni Wright. But on the East River, there are people running with no mask on. Not bothering with social distancing. Right at Tompkins Square Park, people are sitting down with wine in their hands, and we're getting thrown down to the floor."
Jill Woodward shared this footage from Eighth and C...
Local elected officials are calling on the city to report on why and how social distancing is being enforced.
The demand comes following a violent arrest on Avenue D and Ninth Street late Saturday afternoon that was captured on video via a bystander.
An NYPD officer, identified as Francisco Garcia who's stationed at PS4 on Avenue C, was stripped of his gun and put on modified duty following the ugly confrontation when an attempt to enforce social distancing rules escalated.
" ... a plainclothes officer can be seen punching and tackling Donni Wright, a groundskeeper with NYCHA, while shouting the n-word, brandishing a taser, and subsequently kneeling on Wright's head. The confrontation began after officers, some of whom were not wearing face coverings, spotted "a number of people not wearing masks" at the corner of Avenue D and 9th Street, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said on Monday.
Saw the video from the Lower East Side and was really disturbed by it. The officer involved has been placed on modified duty and an investigation has begun. The behavior I saw in that video is simply not acceptable.
And yesterday, a handful of elected officials, led by local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, sent Shea and de Blasio a letter asking for "transparency and accountability" in the way the NYPD is enforcing social distancing.
[Click on image for more detail]
The letter reads in part:
This incident highlights our concerns that social-distancing enforcement may not be applied equally in all communities. Social media accounts portray scenes of people congregating in parks across New York City’s more affluent parks and neighborhoods, yet the enforcement actions that come to light are those like the May 2 event on East 9th Street and Avenue D, predominantly a community of color.
We, therefore, request that NYPD release a report on social-distancing enforcement statistics by neighborhood and demographic. The report should include all citations including warnings and fines, along with 311 complaint data on the matter so that we and the public can compare application of the law.
Communities of color have been particularly burdened by the COVID-19 outbreak, and it is imperative that, especially now, they see that New York City government is in their corner. In the interest of transparency and accountability – and to help repair the mistrust fostered by the May 2 incident and others like it in the past – please release this data immediately.
The letter is signed by Rivera, State Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, U.S. Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Comptroller Scott Stringer and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.
Meanwhile, as previously reported, the city has paid out nearly $200,000 to settle lawsuits involving Garcia, an eight-year veteran.
According to a complaint filed in 2013, Garcia allegedly told a woman eating with her partner inside a Harlem restaurant that she "dressed like a man." When the woman attempted to get his badge number, Garcia allegedly pushed her, then replied: "Take a fucking picture of it, fucking dyke." The city settled that suit for $8,500.
A year later, Garcia was accused of wrongfully arresting a man trying to visit his girlfriend inside a Washington Heights NYCHA building. According to a federal lawsuit, which the city settled for $27,500, Garcia "forced [the man] to the floor face-first," then punched, kicked, and clubbed him.
The letter also states that the officials "expect a full investigation of Officer Francisco Garcia. All disciplinary actions should be on the table, including dismissal."
An NYPD officer has been placed on modified duty following an ugly confrontation on Saturday afternoon when an attempt to enforce social distancing rules escalated on Avenue D at Ninth Street.
Witness Daquan Owens, who took the video below, said the incident started after plainclothes officers approached a man and a woman talking outside a deli around 5:30 p.m. and ordered them to separate. But Owens says the two people were maintaining a six foot distance in accordance with rules intended to slow the spread of COVID-19.
"They were social distancing," Owens said in a telephone interview on Sunday. "The girl was standing by the phone booth, the guy was sitting on a milk crate. When the cops pulled up she said he’s not doing anything. They grabbed her and started tussling with her. Then the guy on the milk crate got mad and started yelling at police."
Here's a narrative of the video below:
Owens's video begins as several plainclothes officers attempt to handcuff two people outside the deli at the northeast corner of Avenue D and East 9th Street. At roughly the 35 second mark of the video, one of the officers turns and advances on bystander Donni Wright, 33, pointing a taser at him. Owens says the officer called Wright the n-word, which can be heard at the 37 second mark, and Wright can be heard asking the officer if he used the racial epithet.
"Move the fuck back right now," the officer shouts. "Don’t flex."
Also in circulation: Security footage showing the start of the incident...
The police said that one man, Shakiem Brunson, was holding a bag of marijuana and became aggressive toward the officers, who moved to arrest him. While he was being handcuffed, a woman, Ashley Serrano, tried to intervene, the police said, and was also arrested.
Donni Wright, a groundskeeper for the NYCHA these past 10 years, was also arrested, and charged with assaulting a police officer.
[Donni Wright, pictured on the street]
The Times identified the officer in the Yankees cap as Francis X. Garcia, who is now on modified duty pending an internal investigation.
The city has paid out at least $182,500 to settle lawsuits involving Garcia, an eight-year veteran who works in the Housing Bureau, the Times uncovered.
As NBC 4 pointed out, the incident "has caught the attention of activists and New York City leaders who have demanded the city enact fair and uniform enforcement of social distancing across all communities."
Local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera is demanding an investigation into the use of excessive force.
I’ve contacted NYPD. We have demanded an investigation for excessive force. Regardless of what transpired before the video, what is the justification for the rage? Where's the professionalism and de-escalation tactics we should expect? We will hold these officers accountable. https://t.co/C7js7wl62D
Meanwhile, David Rankin, a civil rights lawyer representing Wright, told the Times that "the arrest fit within the police department’s long history of violating people’s rights to observe an arrest and called on the officer to be investigated 'fully, quickly, and thoroughly.'"
"The idea that he is doing this without any gloves and no masks, and using profanity and racially charged language, is just completely unacceptable," he said.
This month, Fausto Pichardo, NYPD Chief of Patrol, is going on a Neighborhood Policing Listening Tour at different precincts in the city.
Per the invite: "Share YOUR experiences with how Neighborhood Policing is working in your community as we continue to move forward & build upon our initiatives."
The meeting, which includes for residents served by the 9th Precinct in the East Village, is tomorrow night (March 2) at 6:30 at 235 E. 20th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
Here’s another reminder about the upcoming @NYPDChiefPatrol Neighborhood Policing Listening Tour, coming to Manhattan!
It’s THAT important that we hear from EVERYONE—residents, business owners, clergy, and community leaders—about your experiences with Neighborhood Policing. pic.twitter.com/N2gbWrWySN
The NYPD yesterday released the dramatic body-worn camera footage from the deadly police-involved shooting early on Jan. 9 at Seventh Street and Avenue A.
As previously reported, two men, identified as Earl Facey and Richard Reid, got into an argument inside the Hayaty Hookah Bar at 103 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.
The fight escalated outside the club, when the two men — each reportedly carrying a .22 caliber handgun — fired at each other in a wild exchange that left bullet holes in adjacent businesses. (The video the NYPD released yesterday includes surveillance footage of the two men shooting at each other.)
The chase ended in front of 113 Avenue A, the address of Ray's Candy Store, where Facey was said by police to shoot Reid in the torso. Two uniformed officers who were on patrol nearby shot Facey on the northwest corner of Avenue A and Seventh Street. Facey later died at Bellevue.
The release of the body-cam footage and subsequent narrative offered by the NYPD provides more details about the deadly encounter. In the video, the officers from the 9th Precinct are identified as Liam Murphy and Christopher McLaughlin. The officers arrived as Facey shot Reid, according to Det. Martin Brownlee of the NYPD's Public Information Division who narrates the video.
Facey did not comply with commands to drop his weapon and lie on the ground, Brownlee said. "He walked away from the officers still holding his firearm with his hands in front of him..."
According to Brownlee, as Facey walked south on Avenue A, "he outstretched his left arm." At this point, both officers fired at Facey. He was struck in the left hand and back, and fell to the ground in the crosswalk. Murphy fired two rounds and McLaughlin one.
The NYPD said that they are "releasing this video for clear viewing of the totality of the incident."
The video contains disturbing images — viewer discretion is advised.
As we exclusively reported on Jan. 10, Francisco Valera, a photographer and photojournalist/videographer, who lives in a front-facing apartment on Avenue A at Seventh Street, captured the aftermath of the shooting.
He shared this two-minute video that shows the moments after both Facey and Reid were shot. (The first 15 seconds of the video were filmed sideways.) In the clip below, two officers have their guns drawn, crouching behind a trashcan, looking toward Facey, in the green jacket lying in the intersection.
An unidentified voice can be heard yelling "two shooters down" and telling officers to "holster up." Officers can also be heard commanding passersby to "back off" multiple times.
In the street outside 113 Avenue A, officers are performing CPR on Reid, on his back in the white jacket. An unidentified man is seen pleading with the police. "Officer, please put him in a car. Put him in the car — you don't have a fucking second!" The sounds of an ambulance can be heard in the distance. The man turns to the north on Avenue A toward the approaching ambulance. He pleads with the officers again to take Reid to a hospital in an NYPD vehicle: "There's traffic because of this! What the fuck are you all doing!"
Viewer discretion is advised.
Police have said that both men were reputed gang members and have been linked to prior shootings.
The NYPD is looking for five individuals wanted in a late-night robbery inside a building near Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.
Police officials shared this info yesterday as well as the above images of three of the suspects...
The New York City Police Department is asking for the public's assistance in identifying the individuals depicted in the above photos wanted for questioning in connection to a robbery that occurred within the confines of the 9th Precinct. Details are as follows:
It was reported to police that on Thursday, Jan. 9, at approximately 12:30 a.m., at a residential building in the vicinity of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place, five individuals followed the 23-year-old male victim to the second floor of the building and demanded his property.
One of the individuals lifted his shirt to reveal a handgun in his waistband. The victim complied and the individuals fled the building in an unknown direction with a wallet containing multiple bank/credit cards. There were no injuries reported as a result of this incident.
The NYPD report did not include any descriptions of the suspects.
Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.
In case you're wondering about the helicopters and large NYPD presence this evening around 8.
According to media accounts, plainclothes officers had conducted a traffic stop on Houston and Avenue D/Pitt Street. ABC 7 reported that the suspect reversed his vehicle, pinning one of the officers against the police car.
The officer, from Police Service Area 4 on Avenue C and Eighth Street, reportedly suffered a leg injury and was taken up First Avenue to Bellevue.
The suspect drove off was arrested a short distance away, per the Citizen app. Charges are pending.
Updated:
CBS 2 has a different (and correct) version of what happened. According to the station, "an out-of-control van hit the officer's parked unmarked car from the back." The Post's account corraberates this version of the incident.
Police caught the driver of the mini-van nearby on Delancey and Columbia streets, per these two reports.
Updated 1/22
The Daily Newsreports that the driver of the mini-van was allegedly drunk:
Franklin Liz, 45, is now facing drunk driving, vehicular assault and reckless endangerment charges for starting a chain reaction on Tuesday evening that left a 39-year-old police officer in the hospital with a compound fracture to his right leg, cops said.
There's a report of police activity late this afternoon on Avenue C between 10th Street and 12th Street... EVG regular Jose Garcia shared these photos...
The Citizen app reports that two people were shot with a pellet gun... and that police were searching for a suspect. There isn't much more information at the moment. Will update when more details are available. (An ABC-7 news truck was spotted on the scene.)
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Updated: 7:30 p.m.
The Postreports that one man was shot... and that police arrested one man. And from the article: "Police said the shooter was armed with either a BB gun or a low-caliber pistol."
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According to the MTA, M9 and M14D buses are being rerouted ...
M9 and M14D-SBS buses are detoured because of NYPD Activity between 10 St and 12 St at Avenue C. Details at https://t.co/4PI10QaRnr
Christopher J. Ryan shared these photos from the scene tonight... there was still a large NYPD presence, suggesting that the shooting may have involved more than a pellet gun ...
As for the timeline, the first report of the shooting came in around 3:45 p.m. ... Avenue C between 10th Street and 13th Street was on lockdown, per Ryan, until 9:38 p.m., when the NYPD removed the police tape and allowed traffic to return to the Avenue.
Updated: 1/17
Citizen provided an update... the info about a lack of an arrest contradicts the Post's coverage ...
Updated: 1/22
The Village Sun received more details from police sources, including that it was in face a .22 and not a pellet gun used in the shooting.
Police sources also confirmed an arrest in the case, which happened on Saturday when police cuffed Tyshawn Morris, 21, of Albany, N.Y.
Morris was charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a loaded firearm, criminal possession of a defaced weapon — a weapon with its manufacturer’s serial number scratched off, removed or concealed — and criminal possession of a firearm.
