Getty Police confront protesters at Barclay's earlier in the evening before protests moved on to precincts later.
Police and protesters clashed at a number of regions in New York City tonight on May 29, including the 88th & 84th precincts. The protests followed intense Minnesota protests over the death of George Floyd, where the Minneapolis 3rd Precinct was overrun. You can see videos of the protests throughout this article.
Reports Online Indicated that At Least One Precinct Was Breached by Protesters
Reports on Twitter indicated the NYC precincts might have been overrun too, but other reports contradicted these and said the clashes were intense but the precincts had not fallen.
James A. Galgiano, a CNN law enforcement analyst, tweeted on Friday evening: “NYPD source informs me 88 Pct in Brooklyn just been overrun. Police Commissioner Shea has called a Level 3 mobilization. Requires all special units respond and four cars from every command in the city to location. 84 Pct under siege, as well. Also, Brooklyn North.”
He later clarified that 10-13 on the NYPD scanner means “officer in need of assistance” (on the federal side, he said, it means an officer is down.)
However, Bob Sorensen, a Long Island sports photographer and retired NYPD detective, tweeted a conflicting report. He wrote: “88 pct held strong. The NYPD does NOT lose a precinct.”
Meanwhile, Rob O’Donnell, a senior law enforcement contributor for Law Enforcement Today, tweeted that Gagliano was correct about the 88th precinct. He wrote: “I back up @JamesAGagliano on his reporting. The CO of the 88 pct called for immediate assistance from everyone available as their perimeter was being breached by a violent crowd, with vehicles being set a blaze. They also set up a triage for injured MOS in the 88 muster.”
O’Donnell then shared this video, noting that it showed protesters blocking responding units at the NYPD 88th Precinct.
And this video shows a van on fire in that region.
It was clear, however, that clashes have gotten intense tonight. Protests began at Barclays and then moved toward the precincts.
Morena Basterio of ABC 7 NY tweeted that some protesters were able to break into the 79th percent and were arrested.
She wrote: “Law enforcement sources: Protest in honor of #GeorgeFloyd began at Barclays, making its way to the 79th & 88th precinct. Roughly 150-200 arrests, NYPD vehicles set on fire, protestors managed to break into the @NYPD79Pct and were quickly arrested. Dozen officers injured.”
Note that some of the videos below show violence and profanity and may be disturbing to some people.
One Twitter account shared this photo a burned up police fan from the 81st precinct:
Aneta Molenda shared this on Twitter and wrote: “This is what nearly every NYPD van along Classon, Greene, & Lafayette in Brooklyn looks like right now. Protestors are smashing cop cars. Cops are murdering Black people. Do not equate property damage to murder. This outrage is justified.”
An NYPD van is torched in the video below, but its exact location isn’t clear.
Another person on Twitter, Maria Viti, shared this video, writing that it was of the 88th precinct and quoting Galgiano’s earlier tweet.
The location of this next video isn’t clear, but the person who shared it on Twitter wrote: “NYPD brawls with BLM after a protester smashes a NYPD window.”
In this next video, protesters blocked an NYPD van, forcing it to reverse out of the crowd.
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