Woman arrested after NYPD chief and 3 officers injured following clash with protesters
The New York Police Department arrested a 24-year-old female in connection with an attack on police officers that left three with “serious injuries,” the department said.
The suspect, from New Jersey, is charged with two counts of assault on a police officer, the NYPD said in a release Thursday night. The officers were attempting to make an arrest on the Brooklyn Bridge during a Wednesday protest when someone struck them with a cane, the department said in an earlier release.
“Three officers violently attacked by protesters crossing the Brooklyn Bridge,” the department said on its verified Twitter page. “The officers sustained serious injuries. This is not peaceful protest, this will not be tolerated.”
Describing the injuries, a law enforcement official told CNN a lieutenant received a laceration to the head, another lieutenant suffered an orbital fracture to one of his eyes and one sergeant sustained a laceration to the head that required eight staples.
The incident occurred earlier on Wednesday when counter protesters began disrupting an otherwise peaceful march organized by a religious, pro-cop group, the official told CNN.
The two sides converged on the Brooklyn Bridge and, as police arrested a counter protester for being in the roadway, the officers were assaulted. There were 37 arrests made in total during the clashes, the official said.
Additionally, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan sustained cuts and bruises on his hand, according to multiple law enforcement officials.
Protests over policing in the US have broken out in recent months after instances of violent arrests and killings.
While protests have been largely peaceful, clashes have erupted as demonstrators have called for accountability over the deaths of Black Americans including Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
In Seattle last month, protesters occupied a neighborhood without police presence dubbed the Capitol Hill Occupation Protest.
Correction: An earlier version of this story gave the incorrect rank for an officer who suffered an eye injury.
