Reports of police-induced violence on peaceful protesters are being continuously shared on social media amid coinciding movements for racial injustice and LGBTQ Pride celebrations. Witnesses told reporters that New York Police Department officers not only arrested but pepper-sprayed protestors at the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality on Sunday. Various videos went viral on social media depicting a crowd of officers pushing and shoving protesters near Washington Square Park on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots while attempting an arrest.
The march took place Sunday in place of New York City’s Pride parade canceled due to the novel coronavirus, to celebrate the 51st anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. According to ABC News, while protestors peacefully marched toward Washington Square Park, officers alleged a group was vandalizing an NYPD vehicle and proceeded to arrest the suspects. Bystanders and protesters then took videos showing some officers not only without face covering but cursing at and shoving peaceful protesters with batons in addition to using pepper spray. In one video, an officer is seen pushing a protester on a bike to the ground with his baton.
"I wish that I could say what I saw today was shocking, but how could I reasonably expect anything else from the NYPD?” Jake Tolan, one of the march organizers, said in a statement. "51 years after the Stonewall Rebellion, the NYPD is still responding to peaceful, powerful, righteous queer joy with pepper spray, batons, and handcuffs.” He added that this incident shows why the police department must be abolished.
The statement, shared on the Reclaim Pride Coalition website, also detailed the series of events that took place on Sunday. Protesters were entering the park when an officer stepped forward to arrest a marcher, the statement said. Not knowing why the marcher was being arrested, a crowd gathered and chanted, “Let him go,” sparking a violent response from officers, the statement added. “Suddenly, a large crowd of NYPD officers rushed in and attacked with pepper spray. All that did was increase the crowd yelling at them to ‘go home,’ while marchers nursed their pepper spray wounds. One NYPD member reached out to slam a woman on a bicycle to the ground. Other marchers were punched and violently shoved.”
Multiple witnesses shared that the march was “peaceful” prior to the arrival of officers who allegedly began beating protesters near the historic Stonewall Inn. Marti Gould Cummings, who is running for New York’s city council, shared their recollection of the incident with BuzzFeed News Sunday. "I was leaving Washington Square—there was a beautiful rally centering around Black trans women. As we were leaving, we noticed a commotion directly in front of us and realized it was the police," Cummings said. "People were chanting 'don’t shoot' and many took a knee. The police escalated and used pepper spray and batons," they added. Another witness told the news outlet that officers began to retreat when protesters linked arms and created a barricade to protect one another from the violence.
"The NYPD is going ballistic," a witness livestreaming the incident on Facebook said. "The situation was at a point where this was almost Stonewall 2," the witness added. "There was an excessive amount of police once the march got here. "
A spokesman for the NYPD confirmed to NBC News that three individuals were arrested for allegedly assaulting officers. While one was charged with creating graffiti, the other two were charged with resisting arrests and assaulting an officer, the spokesman said.
The NYPD has not issued any apology or commented on the use of excessive force on protesters. Who knows if such an apology will even come during this decade. It wasn’t until last year that Police Commissioner James O'Neill apologized for the NYPD's actions during the 1969 Stonewall riots.
Earlier in the day on Sunday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted in honor of the anniversary of the city’s Pride march, but has not yet commented on the NYPD’s actions of excessive force and police brutality Sunday. “On the 50th Anniversary of #PrideMarch and the 51st Anniversary of Stonewall, NYC celebrates the Black, trans activists who built the movement and continue to lead today,” de Blasio said.
"We are horrified and furious at the brutal police attack on peaceful marchers using pepper spray, violent shoving, and arrests," a spokesperson for the Queer Liberation March told BuzzFeed News. "At the exact moment that Mayor de Blasio tweeted about honoring Stonewall and the LGBTQIA+ rights movement, the NYPD completely overreacted with unprovoked physical violence—including pepper-spraying their own colleagues." Witnesses at the incident recalled police officers pepper-spraying not only protesters but a medic pouring water into the eyes of two officers who were sprayed as well, Gothamist reported.
The NYPD’s reckless actions follow other recent incidents of violence against peaceful protesters. Last month, Daily Kos reported an incident in which a woman suffered a “serious seizure” and concussion after an NYPD officer shoved her during a protest on racial injustice. The incident was captured on video.