Holly MatkinManhattan, NY – Video footage captured the moment when an anti-police protester lashed out at a New York police detective and violently knocked his camera out of his hands.
The confrontation occurred during an anti-police march in Hell’s Kitchen on Nov. 8, the New York Post reported.
As they neared the intersection of 10th Avenue and 38th Street at approximately 4:40 p.m., 25-year-old Nelae White and her fellow protesters belted out chants of “No cops, no KKK, no fascist USA,” according to the paper.
At one point, White stopped to say something to a detective who was recording the scene, the New York Post reported.
A moment later, she suddenly reached up and slapped the camera from the detective’s hands, knocking it to the ground.
White attempted to walk away, but was quickly tackled to the ground by officers, the New York Post reported.
Several other marchers were knocked off of their bikes during the officers’ scuffle with White, according to the paper.
Additional officers formed a line to keep the rest of the protesters at bay while White was being handcuffed.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) later shared the footage on Twitter, noting that White’s intentional act caused the camera to break.
This video from the detective's camera shows the individual knocking the camera out of his hands, causing it to break. Repeated warnings were read over a loudspeaker, advising protesters not to block the street. The individual was arrested for criminal mischief. pic.twitter.com/KMLuNQ1SKP
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 9, 2020
She has been charged with criminal mischief.
Critics blamed the detective for the broken camera, with some alleging he instigated the confrontation and “antagonized violence.”
“Why was the cop in her face?” one Twitter user asked. “She probably felt threatened.”
Another commenter accused the detective of violating White’s rights.
“I see a young lady exercising her first amendment rights, a cop sticking a camera in her face, that has to be 3 feet away from her, or even closer for her to be able to reach the camera. It looks like the cop instigated that. she’s going to sue and the city will settle,” another tweet read.
@NYPD arresting protesters 38th and 10th in NYC @maddow @MSNBC @andersoncooper @DeadlineWH @nytimes pic.twitter.com/OQQSfhPlmt
— Ford Haeuser (@thingford) November 9, 2020
Police did not make any other arrests in connection with Sunday’s protest, according to the New York Post.
