400 police injured in New York during two weeks of protests

About 400 New York police officers were injured in nearly two weeks of protests caused by the death of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis. This was announced by Deputy Commissioner of New York Police Ben Tucker, writes NBC New York.

Several officers were hospitalized with multiple injuries, from being hit by a car to being hit on the head with a fire extinguisher. One officer was hit on the head with a brick so hard that the policeman's helmet broke. In another case, a NYPD sergeant was hit in the head with a glass bottle so that he needed 10 stitches to close a head wound.

Most policemen were injured in clashes with protesters, but escaped more serious injuries. Given the fact that the protesters threw Molotov cocktails into police cars and the fact that they set fire to the NYPD SUVs, the NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said that this was an accident, since none of the police officers were injured or died.

The same can be said of protesters caught on the ground because police cars pushed through barricades. One 20-year-old woman was hospitalized with cramps and a concussion after, judging by the video, a police officer pushed her onto the sidewalk where she hit her head.

The 28-year-old officer was charged with assault, harassment, and other crimes in connection with this incident. He became the first New York City police officer to be charged. His lawyer, Stephen Worth, did not comment on the situation, and the police union accused the New York City police of following up with the protesters.

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Another New York City police officer was made responsible for investigating the Brooklyn incident on May 29 when a policeman allegedly opened an unmarked car door and hit a protester. This case has been referred to the appropriate officials for disciplinary control, according to NYPD.

Another New York police officer was suspended from work after a moment was recorded on the video when he removed his face mask from a protester and sprayed pepper gas in front of him.

Numerous other police videos are under investigation at the New York Police Bureau of the Interior. The Attorney General is speeding up an independent investigation into the most violent clashes. Since the start of the protests in New York, the Civic Complaints Commission has reported 633 police complaints, up from 533 for the entire April.

Nevertheless, the head of the New York Police Department, Terence Monahan, posted a video for all city police officers, which tells about everything that has happened over the past two weeks.

Raise your heads high - you have done your job. There will be investigations, but we will deal with it together, ”Monahan said in the video. "Together as a police department and together with the millions of New Yorkers who truly value and need you every day."

Investigators have accused extremist groups of fomenting night riots, which undermines legitimate protests. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio imposed curfews and a partial ban on traffic to help stop the tide of violence.

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More than 2000 people have been arrested since the first night of protests in New York on May 28, which began amid a national protest over the death of Floyd three days earlier. Floyd was buried in Texas. Now, the dismissed officer, who in the video for 8 minutes and 46 seconds held his knee on Floyd's neck, is being held on bail of $ 1 million, bringing charges against him, including second-degree murder. Several officers who saw Floyd die were also arrested.

Local protests triggered a series of large-scale reforms and calls to protect police departments. New York State lawmakers repealed a multi-year law that kept secret officers' disciplinary records.

Wednesday, June 10, marked the fourteenth day of protests in the city, and the demonstrators said their goal is to continue to protest every day until they see the real changes adopted by the mayor's office or other authorities.

As ForumDaily New York wrote earlier:

• In the New York Detectives Union promised to file to court on any protester, a rebel or a looter who attacks law enforcement officers.