Protests over the police beating death of Tyre Nichols turned violent in New York’s Times Square as several arrests were made, including of a man who stomped on the windshield of a police cruiser.
At least three people were handcuffed in the Crossroads of the World after getting into some sort of confrontation with police in the street, the New York Post reports.
In another chaotic scene, one of the protesters hopped on the hood of a police car and cracked the windshield with his foot. Several police officers quickly moved in to grab the man and then they led him through the crowd into a police precinct, footage shows.
The Times Square protest was one of several that erupted in the Big Apple as the sun went down. Others originated in Union Square and Grand Central Terminal.
While the night began peacefully, tensions between protesters and NYPD officers grew as it got later into the night.
Earlier that evening, Hawk Newsome, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, warned at Union Square that violence wasn’t off the table.
“Was they peaceful when they were stomping on brother Nichols’ head, when they was hitting him with that baton,” Newsome told a crowd of dozens of people.
“Was they peaceful with Rodney King, was they peaceful with George Floyd, Eric Garner!”
“But they want us to always be peaceful,” the activist went on to say.
“I’m not telling you to come out here and wild out but we ain’t never taking violence off the f***ing table. Because that’s the language of America.”
Newsome later added, “I can’t stand seeing another black man screaming. I can’t stomach it,” in reference to the graphic footage released by officials in Memphis of Nichols’ violent confrontation with five Memphis cops.
Throngs of marchers were seen walking as they chanted “no justice, no peace” and “no racist police” with a few protesters holding up a sign that states, “Stop the War on Black America”, according to footage tweeted out by ABC 7 reporter CeFaan Kim.
Around 10pm on Friday night local time, NYPD officers blocked some protesters from potentially reaching the West Side Highway, CBS New York reporter Ali Bauman tweeted along with a photo.
At some point the protesters from Union Square linked up with demonstrators who started out the night at Times Square.
Earlier in the evening, another small protest began inside Grand Central Terminal, according to footage posted on Twitter shortly before 6pm. Demonstrators there were calling for the closure of Rikers Island as they held signs commemorating Nichols and other black men who died following confrontations with police.
“Only revolution can bring justice!” part of one sign read.
Access to Grand Central was later limited to only customers looking to catch a train out of the city as a result of the flurry of demonstrations, Metro-North Railroad tweeted. Police were checking tickets as people walked through entrances, according to footage posted on Twitter by Bauman of CBS.
Nichols died earlier this month after he was pulled over by police, and the five cops involved in the traffic stop were charged with murder on Thursday.
The 29-year-old black man’s death has sparked condemnation from leaders across the country as they urge peaceful demonstration following release of the graphic footage that shows Nichols pommeled and tasered by officers, who are all black.
New York was one of several cities across the country where protests were underway.
As people in Gotham began gathering on Friday, Mayor Eric Adams urged those taking to the streets to be peaceful.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said in a statement there would be increased law enforcement over the next days “to ensure that people who choose to are able to express themselves freely and safely”.
“While we understand, appreciate, and share the high emotional charge of this tragedy, our Department will never tolerate violence, wilful destruction, or any other criminality,” she also said.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and has been republished with permission
