Violent confrontations at a pro-Palestinian rally in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on Saturday reflected what some local officials and protest organizers called an unexpectedly aggressive Police Department response, with officers flooding the neighborhood and using force against protesters.
At the rally, which drew hundreds of demonstrators, at least two officers wearing the white shirts of commanders were filmed punching three protesters who were prone in the middle of a crosswalk.
One officer had pinned a man to the ground and repeatedly punched him in the ribs, a 50-second video clip shows.
Another officer punched the left side of a man’s face as he held his head to the asphalt.
The police arrested around 40 people who were “unlawfully blocking roadways,” Kaz Daughtry, the department’s deputy commissioner of operations, said on social media on Sunday.
Persons:
” Kaz Daughtry, Mr, Daughtry, “, ”
Organizations:
Department, The Police Department
Locations:
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn