Holly MatkinBrooklyn, NY – Rioters spent Tuesday night setting fires, smashing store windows, attacking police, and vandalizing patrol vehicles in response to the officer-involved shooting death of a man who charged at officers with a knife in Philadelphia.
Approximately 40 businesses and nine New York Police Department (NYPD) vehicles were vandalized by rioters during the night, WNBC reported.
The mob of approximately 200 people marched through Boerum Hill on Oct. 27 chanting, “burn the precinct to the ground! Every city, every town!” according to the New York Daily News.
Members of the crowd, most of whom were dressed all in black, busted out storefront windows and lit trash fires in the street.
Multiple fires burned along Court Street between Montague Street and Atlantic Avenue, the New York Daily News reported.
Photo from the riots in Brooklyn New York last night. Wake up America! pic.twitter.com/JtzduW2ufm
— Eddie (@JN31621) October 28, 2020
NEW VIDEO: Hundreds of demonstrators in Downtown Brooklyn during protests over the shooting death of #WalterWallaceJr in #Philadelphia. NYPD says 39 commercial businesses were damaged & 27 arrests were made #nbc4ny pic.twitter.com/xQvJV2MWrv
— Tracie Strahan (@tstrahan4NY) October 28, 2020
An American flag was set ablaze at one point, according to WCBS.
An NYPD van and the Christopher Columbus statue outside the Brooklyn Supreme Court were vandalized with spray paint, the New York Daily News reported.
#NYC
Smashed NYPD cruiser— Enter💀Your🎃Name (@tr00puRR) October 28, 2020
Rioters also smashed out the windows of a Starbucks, a Bank of America, a Chase Bank, and multiple bus shelters.
Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/PEDjQc17MT
— Maria🎃Viti (@selfdeclaredref) October 28, 2020
A number of arrests this evening after protests in Brooklyn. Police say some property and vehicle damage. This is at court st & Atlantic Ave @NY1 pic.twitter.com/wvZvW77p6m
— Shannan Ferry (@ShannanFerry) October 28, 2020
A rioter drove a car through a line of NYPD bicycle officers at one point during the overnight chaos, the New York Daily News reported.
Video footage showed police as they chased after a black car on foot and surrounded it.
The driver continued to pull forward intermittently as the officers ordered the driver to stop.
Officers appeared to strike the windows of the car with batons just moments before the driver hit the gas and blew through a second group of officers on bicycles, the video showed.
The NYPD later said the driver escaped, WNBC reported.
Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/CUCKXQMcYy
— Maria🎃Viti (@selfdeclaredref) October 28, 2020
Police ultimately surrounded the mob on Atlantic Avenue at approximately 10 p.m., and arrested approximately 30 members of the group, according to the New York Daily News.
A total of five NYPD officers suffered minor injuries, mostly due to scuffling with combative suspects during arrests, WNBC reported.
Violence erupts in Brooklyn over Walter Wallace Jr protests pic.twitter.com/48ogcGOSbw
— The Sun (@TheSun) October 28, 2020
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said that the NYPD has been focusing on how to best utilize resources and personnel in anticipation of potential violence on Election Day, WCBS reported.
“We’ve been planning for this for months now, knowing this election is coming up,” Commissioner Shea said prior to Tuesday night’s riots. “We have a large contingency of officers on standby, as well as deployed throughout the city in uniform. You will see them all over.”
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday morning that violence and destruction will not be tolerated.
“I want to make clear no violence is acceptable. Violence towards individuals, citizens, violence against police officers, absolutely unacceptable, violence against property unacceptable, fires unacceptable,” de Blasio said, according to WABC. “Those violations should be prosecuted. I absolutely want to see those prosecutions. We just need to remind people if you have issues you want to raise, you can do that anytime with peaceful protest, but you cannot use violence.”
Sandy Malone
