Police officials say there were “isolated cases” of inappropriate force. But 64 videos show many attacks on protesters that appear unwarranted.
Police officials say there were “isolated cases” of inappropriate force. But 64 videos show many attacks on protesters that appear unwarranted.
N.Y.P.D. Says It Used Restraint During Protests. Here’s What the Videos Show.
ByAllison McCannBlacki MigliozziAndy NewmanLarry BuchananandAaron ByrdJuly 14, 2020
ByAllison McCann,Blacki Migliozzi,Andy Newman,Larry BuchananandAaron ByrdJuly 14, 2020
It was two hours after curfew on the sixth night of protests against police brutality in New York City.
An officer in Brooklyn pushed a protester so hard that she fell backward on the pavement. Then he shoved someone on a bicycle and picked up and body-slammed a third person into the street.
Nearby, a man fell running from the police. Officers swarmed him and beat him with batons. A commanding officer, in his white-shirted uniform, joined the fray and stepped on the man’s neck.
All of it was caught on video. In fact, the New York Times found more than 60 videos that show the police using force on protesters during the first 10 days of demonstrations in the city after the death of George Floyd.
A review of the videos, shot by protesters and journalists, suggests that many of the police attacks, often led by high-ranking officers, were not warranted.
Some videos have been edited for length and clarity.See the full set of videos below.
A video of five or 10 or 30 seconds does not tell the whole story, of course. It does not depict what happened before the camera started rolling. It is unclear from the videos, for instance, what the officers’ intentions were or why protesters were being arrested or told to move.
But the Police Department’spatrol guidesays officers may use “only the reasonable force necessary to gain control or custody of a subject.” Force, policing experts say, must be proportionate to the threat or resistance at hand at the moment it is applied.
In instance after instance, the police are seen using force on people who do not appear to be resisting arrest or posing an immediate threat to anyone.
Officers attacked people who had their hands up.
They hit people who were walking away from them.
They grabbed people from behind.
And they repeatedly pummeled people who were already on the ground.
Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea has maintained that misconduct during the protests was confined to “isolated cases” and that officers were confronted with violence by protesters.
He noted that during the first week of demonstrations, peoplelooted businesses,burned police carsandattacked officerswith bricks, bottles and in one casea fire extinguisher. The unrest prompted Mayor Bill de Blasio to impose an 8 p.m. curfew.
“I think the officers used an incredible amount of restraint in terms of allowing people to vent,” Commissioner Sheasaid on June 22. “I am proud of their performance in policing these protests, ending the riots and upholding the rule of law.”
Yet for just about each viral moment that emerged from the protests — officers violentlyshoving a woman to the groundorbeating a cyclistwho seemed to be doing nothing more than trying to cross the street — The Times turned up multiple examples of similar behavior.
The police responded to words with punches and pepper spray.
Officers charged into peaceful crowds and pushed people to the ground.
Sometimes, they appeared to lash out at random.
Devora Kaye, the Police Department’s assistant commissioner for public information, declined repeated requests to review the full set of videos provided by The Times and to explain the use of force in them.
She reiterated that “isolated incidents” of misconduct were being addressed, noted that four officers had already been disciplined, and said that the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau was investigating 51 cases of use of force during the protests.
“The N.Y.P.D. has zero tolerance for inappropriate or excessive use of force,” she wrote, “but it is also critical to review the totality of the circumstances that lead to interactions where force is used.”
The police said that nearly 400 officers were injured during the protests, and that 132 of the more than 2,500 people arrestedreported injuries, but that they did not have records of injured people who were not arrested. Protesters havedescribedand documented at least five broken or fractured bones and four concussions.
When presented with the videos collected by The Times, Kapil Longani, counsel to Mr. de Blasio, said, “These incidents are disturbing and New Yorkers deserve a full accounting of these matters and access to a transparent disciplinary process.”
But he cautioned that the police disciplinary system needed time to carry out thorough investigations.
“To conclude that these officers or any American committed a crime without due process is inconsistent with the fundamental fairness that underlies our judicial system,” Mr. Longani said.
The Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents most N.Y.P.D. officers, declined to comment on the videos.
The episodes in the videos The Times reviewed were spread across 15 neighborhoods in three boroughs. Several videos each were taken June 3 in Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn and on June 4 in Mott Haven in the Bronx, when officers “kettled” protesters into tight spaces and then beat them with batons.
Philip M. Stinson, a Bowling Green State University criminologist and former police officer who studies the use of force by the police, offered a blunt assessment of the behavior shown in these videos.
“A lot of this was ‘street justice,’” he said, “gratuitous acts of extrajudicial violence doled out by police officers on the street to teach somebody a lesson.”
Sometimes, the police went after people already in custody.
Sometimes officers went after people they did not appear interested in arresting at all.
Mr. Stinson said that in some of the videos, the police used force permissibly. He saw nothing inappropriate, for example, in this widely viewed video of officers using batons on people who appeared to be trying to evade arrest.
In many other videos, though, he said he believed that force had been applied without discipline or supervision.
“Some of the stuff that they do is so sloppy,” he said. “Some of it is just downright criminal.”
Scott Hechinger, a public defender for nearly a decade in Brooklyn, said he found it striking that being filmed by crowds of protesters did not seem to inhibit some officers’ conduct.
“That the police were able and willing to perform such brazen violence when surrounded by cellphone cameras and when the whole world was watching at this moment more than any other, underscores how police feel and know they will never be held to account in any meaningful way even for the most egregious acts of violence,” Mr. Hechinger said.
Many of the videos show violence led by officers in white shirts, signaling a rank of lieutenant or higher.
In Manhattan on June 2, one commander shoved a protester and another pulled her down by the hair.
A civil rights lawyer with the legal aid group the Bronx Defenders, Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, said she saw violations of constitutional rights in nearly all the videos, including the rights to free speech and due process.
“The primary question is whether the force is reasonable, but you have to remember, if they’re not arresting someone, they shouldn’t be using any force,” Ms. Borchetta said.
At several protests, the police used bicycles as weapons.
More often, they used their hands.
The protests, and the outcry over the policing of them, have already led to changes. State legislatorsoverturned a lawthat kept police discipline records secret and New York Citycut its police budgetandbroadened a ban on chokeholds. Last week, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James,called for an independent commissionto permanently oversee the Police Department.
But acts of force by the police arestill being caught on video, more than six weeks into the protests.
Axel Hernandez, a high school teacher in New York City who on June 3 filmed an officerthrowing someone down by the neck, said he felt it was important to continue to keep watch over the police.
“Part of the reason we’re out here is because they were on George Floyd’s neck,” said Mr. Hernandez, 30. “This is exactly why we are protesting in the first place.”
See the full set of videos.
The Times sought and verified videos of police use of force at protests in New York City from May 28 to June 6. The following videos were compiled from Times reporting and lists shared byT. Greg Doucette,Corin Faife, acrowd-sourced effortstarted on Reddit and public responses to requests by the New York attorney general’s office and the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board. Some are being made public for the first time. These videos are not an exhaustive accounting of police behavior at the protests. They have been edited for length and in some cases slowed down or annotated for clarity but are otherwise unaltered.
May 28
Union Square,Manhattan
An officer grabs someone by their backpack, and several officers engage in a struggle as other people join to pull the person away.
Source:NY1
Union Square,Manhattan
Two officers lift their bicycles and push them repeatedly into a group of people, knocking one person over.
Source:Requested anonymity
Union Square East and East 17th Street,Manhattan
An officer hits someone in the leg with a baton, and the baton breaks.
Source:Shimon Prokupecz
May 29
Tompkins and Lexington Avenues,Brooklyn
Two officers use a baton and hands to shove a person who falls backward to the pavement.
Source:@nycDSA
Classon and Putnam Avenues,Brooklyn
An officer shoves a person who falls backward into the street.
Source:Mia Stange
Classon and Lafayette Avenues,Brooklyn
An officer shoves at least three people, one of whom is also shoved in the chest by a white-shirted officer.
Source:John Philp
DeKalb and Classon Avenues,Brooklyn
An officer shoves two people, and one falls to the ground.
Source:Requested anonymity
67 Fifth Avenue,Brooklyn
An officer grabs someone from behind and throws the person into a parked car, where they appear to hit their head. Another officer steps over the person’s immobile body.
Source:Michael Thoreau
Greene and Classon Avenues,Brooklyn
An officer runs up and shoves someone several times, and then shoves a second and third person standing nearby.
Source:Zach Williams
Fifth Avenue and Bergen Street,Brooklyn
A white-shirted officer shoves someone, who falls backward.
Source:@crankberries
Classon and Lafayette Avenues,Brooklyn
A white-shirted officer running down the street shoves a person to the ground, and then keeps running.
Source:Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs/The New York Times
Flatbush Avenue and Pacific Street,Brooklyn
A video taken of a cracked cellphone screen shows someone approach an officer, who then strikes the first person in the face.
Source:Nate Schweber/The New York Times
Classon and Gates Avenues,Brooklyn
A passenger in a moving unmarked police car opens the car door to strike someone standing on the street.
Source:Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs/The New York Times
Barclays Center,Brooklyn
An officer shoves a protester, who falls to the ground.
Source:Whitney Hu
Barclays Center,Brooklyn
Officers repeatedly hit two people with batons. Another officer pushes someone to the ground.
Source:Jon Campbell
May 30
Broadway and East 14th Street,Manhattan
An officer shoves a person with a baton.
Source:Annika Schmidt
Flatbush Avenue Extension and DeKalb Avenue,Brooklyn
An officer hits a person in the face and knocks them down. The person gets up and moments later is pepper-sprayed and shoved again. Two more officers pepper-spray a crowd of people.
Source:Jean-Cosme Delaloye/JCDe Productions
Flatbush Avenue Extension and Willoughby Street,Brooklyn
An officer shoves someone, who pushes back, and a second officer shoves the person over.
Source:Donald Martell
Bedford and Tilden Avenues,Brooklyn
A person is being led away when an officer throws them to the ground.
Source:Lauren Mitchell
137 Fourth Avenue,Manhattan
An officer appears to use a baton to hit a person filming, and then shoves a second person, who is also carrying a camera. They can be heard saying they are press.
Source:Sami Disu
Church and Rogers Avenues,Brooklyn
An officer pepper-sprays a crowd after two people in the crowd throw things at a line of officers.
Source:P. Nick Curran
395 Flatbush Avenue Extension,Brooklyn
An officer runs up and shoves a person who is backing away, then chases the person down.
Source:Brandon Scott
Bedford and Tilden Avenues,Brooklyn
An officer shoves a protester twice.
Source:Sean Piccoli/The New York Times
Bedford and Tilden Avenues,Brooklyn
An officer pushes through a crowd and grabs a person by the neck to push them aside. Another officer knocks the person over, and the first officer throws the person down again when they try to get up.
Source:Doug Gordon
Bedford and Tilden Avenues,Brooklyn
An officer pulls down a protester’s mask and pepper-sprays the person’s face.
Source:Anju J. Rupchandani
Flatbush and St. Marks Avenues,Brooklyn
Protesters block the path of a police car and pelt it with garbage. Two police cars then drive into the crowd, knocking over several people.
Source:@pgarapon
May 31
Broadway and East 12th Street,Manhattan
An officer pepper-sprays a crowd, then knocks someone down with an elbow to the face.
Source:David Siffert
Barclays Center,Brooklyn
A white-shirted officer pushes a protester backward with a baton.
Source:Jake Offenhartz/WNYC
Atlantic Center,Brooklyn
Someone runs toward a person who is on the ground being detained by officers, and several people in blue uniforms beat the person on the ground with batons.
Source:Noah Goldberg/The New York Daily News
Atlantic Terminal,Brooklyn
A group of officers hit a person who is on the ground numerous times with batons.
Source:Jake Offenhartz/WNYC
Fourth Avenue and Pacific Street,Brooklyn
An officer pushes a protester whose hands are up. The protester falls backward over a garbage bag.
Source:Andy Newman/The New York Times
F.D.R. Drive and Houston Street,Manhattan
An officer walks along a roadway pepper-spraying protesters.
Source:Carlos Polanco
Canal and Greene Streets,Manhattan
An officer shoves a protester with a riot shield, the protester shoves back, and a second officer hits the protester on the head with a baton.
Source:Gwynne Hogan/WNYC
Church and Canal Streets,Manhattan
Officers rush a crowd and knock down a protester whose hands are up. A white-shirted officer drags another protester on the asphalt.
Source:Nate Igor Smith
Barclays Center,Brooklyn
A white-shirted officer shoves a protester with a baton and hits a protester in the face.
Source:Noah Goldberg/The New York Daily News
June 1
41 East 57th Street,Manhattan
An officer running by a group of bystanders pepper-sprays them and keeps running.
Source:Aaron Blanton
June 2
West and Rector Streets,Manhattan
An officer approaches someone with a bicycle, striking the person in the legs with a baton.
Source:Requested anonymity
17 Battery Place,Manhattan
A white-shirted officer pushes one person down, and then shoves another. A second officer grabs a protester by the hair to bring her to the ground.
Source:Brandon Remmert
West and Rector Streets,Manhattan
An officer orders someone to put down a bicycle. The protester is then shoved to the ground before another officer approaches and pushes the protester’s head toward the pavement.
Source:Requested anonymity
West and Morris Streets,Manhattan
A protester is on the ground surrounded by multiple officers. An officer then strikes the person in the legs with a baton.
Source:Ali Winston
60 West Street,Manhattan
An officer and a protester appear to bump into each other, and the officer punches the protester in the head.
Source:Ben Eustace
Fourth and Atlantic Avenues,Brooklyn
An officer shoves a protester to the ground and shoves a cyclist. The same officer then body-slams a third person to the pavement.
Source:Daniel Altschuler
Fourth and Atlantic Avenues,Brooklyn
Several officers chase down and beat a person with their batons. A white-shirted officer runs up and steps on the person’s neck.
Source:Allison McCann/The New York Times
Fifth Avenue and East 83rd Street,Manhattan
An officer walks into a crowd to grab someone from behind and pull them to the ground. A second officer throws a second person to the ground.
Source:Requested anonymity
June 3
Cadman Plaza,Brooklyn
An officer punches someone on the ground.
Source:Meghann Perez
Cadman Plaza,Brooklyn
An officer shoves someone on a bicycle. Another officer shoves someone from behind. A third officer shoves another person from behind.
Source:Casey Correa
Cadman Plaza,Brooklyn
An officer approaches a person walking with a bicycle, grabs the cyclist around the neck and pushes them to the ground.
Source:Axel Hernandez
Cadman Plaza,Brooklyn
Three officers use riot shields to shove a protester who is astride a bike, and the protester falls down.
Source:Axel Hernandez
Cadman Plaza,Brooklyn
An officer shoves a protester with a baton and the protester falls backward.
Source:Mattie Barber-Bockelman
Cadman Plaza,Brooklyn
A protester states that someone is injured. Officers shove their way through the group and push at least two people to the ground.
Source:Don P. Hooper
54th Street and Lexington Avenue,Manhattan
An officer tries to restrain a protester who is holding on to a bicycle. The officer drags the protester, and the bicycle, until both fall to the ground.
Source:Simran Jeet Singh
Third Avenue and 50th Street,Manhattan
Multiple officers, including one in a white shirt, hit a cyclist with their batons.
Source:Karla Moreno
June 4
Washington Avenue and Fulton Street,Brooklyn
An officer grabs someone, then shoves another person twice into a car.
Source:Axel Hernandez
Flushing and Marcy Avenues,Brooklyn
A white-shirted officer shoves a person on a bicycle.
Source:David Colombini
East 136th Street and Brook Avenue,Bronx
Multiple officers strike a group of protesters with their batons.
Source:Jordan Jackson; 
					Daniel Maiuri
East 136th Street and Brook Avenue,Bronx
An officer throws a protester to the ground to arrest the protester. Another person then interferes with the arresting officer. The officer turns, hits the person and shoves him.
Source:Ray Mendez
East 136th Street and Brook Avenue,Bronx
A protester whose hands are up is saying something. An officer walks over and shoves the protester.
Source:Jake Offenhartz/WNYC
Lee Avenue and Heyward Street,Brooklyn
An officer punches a person on the ground several times.
Source:Oliver Rivard
East 136th Street and Brook Avenue,Bronx
Officers flip a legal observer for the National Lawyers Guild to the ground and arrest her.
Source:Shaquille Roberts and Conrad Blackburn
Washington Avenue and Fulton Street,Brooklyn
A white-shirted officer uses a baton to strike a person on a bike.
Source:John Knefel
Washington Avenue and Fulton Street,Brooklyn
Two white-shirted officers walking with a crowd grab and shove someone in the crowd.
Source:Noah Hurowitz
East 136th Street and Brook Avenue,Bronx
A person says something to a white-shirted officer. The officer shoves the person over with a baton.
Source:Andom Ghebreghiorgis
June 5
885 Nostrand Avenue,Brooklyn
An officer shoves someone on a bicycle, who falls over.
Source:Requested anonymity
June 6
Nassau and Gold Streets,Brooklyn
A person is tackled to the ground by a group of officers and punched in the head multiple times.
Source:Mike Hassell
Troy Closson contributed reporting.
Two captions in an earlier version of this article misstated the locations in Manhattan of two videos’ filming. One was at Fifth Avenue and East 83rd Street, not Bryant Park, and the other was at 41 East 57th Street, not West 57th Street and Sixth Avenue.