A viral video that was posted on Twitter shows a car driving through a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters in Times Square on Thursday night.
The footage shows the protesters marching in the rain at around 8 p.m. on Sept. 3 at Broadway and West 46th Street when a Ford Taurus drove through the crowd. The protest was calling for justice for Daniel Prude, a Black man who died by asphyxiation in March after police in Rochester put a hood over his head as he knelt on the ground, handcuffed and naked.
Car drives through protesters, Times Square, New York City, Thursday, September 3, 2020 pic.twitter.com/yMadwNYJSI
— DataInput (@datainput) September 4, 2020
A report from PIX11 stated that the protest had been peaceful up until this point. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said on Good Day New York that there was a group of counter-protesters in the area, however it is not immediately clear if the driver came from the pro-Trump counter-protesters.
The NYPD confirmed on Twitter that the car was not a NYPD vehicle and that an investigation is underway. There were no reported injuries at this time, however the NYPD is asking that people come forward if they were injured.
“We have to interview both sides. We’d like to interview anyone that was in that vehicle, we believe there was multiple people in that vehicle,” said Shea. “And anyone who was on the scene and certainly anyone that was injured.”
There is an ongoing investigation into an incident in Times Square involving a black Taurus sedan. This auto is NOT an NYPD vehicle. pic.twitter.com/kBGuXhFtP1
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) September 4, 2020
Members of City Council that represent Manhattan are speaking out about the video, with Council Speaker Corey Johnson saying on Twitter, “This video shows an incredibly reckless and disturbing action through a lawful protest. We must get to the bottom of it. We need accountability.”
Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez agreed, writing on Twitter that it was troubling to see this incident on video in an area that’s generally heavily monitored by the NYPD.
This is completely troubling to see, especially in an area that is supposed to be heavily monitored by the @NYPDnews. https://t.co/H7HwVGwJ2Z
— Ydanis Rodriguez (@ydanis) September 4, 2020
