New York City Police had planned the assault on peaceful protesters and the massive arrests carried out on that occasion in the Mott Haven neighborhood in the southern Bronx on June 4, 2020, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. This crackdown, organized by the most senior uniformed officer in the New York Police Department, was one of the most aggressive police responses to the protests that took place across the United States in the wake of the George Floyd died at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Police actions in Mott Haven could cost New York taxpayers several million dollars, as a result of legal proceedings and professional misconduct complaints.
Human Rights Watch et SITU Research, an organization specializing in visual data-driven surveys, jointly released a video including footage filmed during the demonstration, testimonies, as well as three-dimensional models.
The 99-page report, titled “‘Kettling’ Protesters in the Bronx: Systemic Police Brutality and Its Costs in the United States” (“‘Surrounding’ Protesters in the Bronx: Systemic Police Brutality in the United States and Its Costs “), provides a detailed account of how police responded to the peaceful June 4 protest in Mott Haven, a predominantly colored, low-income neighborhood that has long faced high levels of police brutality and of systemic racism. It describes the city’s ineffective accountability systems that protect abusive police officers, shows the shortcomings of gradual reforms, and emphasizes the need for structural change.
About 10 minutes before the 8:00 p.m. curfew – imposed following cases of looting in other parts of the city – large numbers of police surrounded and trapped the protesters – a tactic known as “ encirclement “Or” trapped – as they marched peacefully through Mott Haven. Just after 8:00 p.m., the police, without being provoked and without warning, moved towards the demonstrators, batons in hand, hitting people from the top of their vehicles, throwing them to the ground and spraying them with pepper spray, before apprehending them. more than 250 people.
« New York police surrounded these people, preventing them from dispersing before the curfew, then used the pretext of this curfew to beat, mistreat and arrest citizens who were peacefully protesting. Said Ida Sawyer, acting director of the Crises and Conflict division at Human Rights Watch and co-author of the report. “ It was a planned operation that made no sense and could cost New York taxpayers millions of dollars. »
Video with English subtitles:
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Human Rights Watch interviewed or viewed the written testimonies of 81 people who participated in the protest and 19 other community members, lawyers, activists, and city officials, and analyzed 155 videos filmed during the protest. The New York Police Department (NYPD) partially answered Human Rights Watch’s questions about the protest, but not a request for an interview with senior police officials.
One protester described how a police officer punched him in the face while another twisted his finger until he fractured it. “ Then another policeman sprayed pepper spray on my face “, he said. “ Then they dragged me on the ground and beat me with batons. When they put the handcuffs on me, at one point, I felt a knee press down on my neck. »
Human Rights Watch documented at least 61 cases in which protesters, legal observers, and bystanders sustained injuries during the crackdown, including abrasions, broken nose, loss of a tooth, dislocated shoulder , a broken finger, swollen eyes, and potentially damaged nerves from the tight fitting of plastic handcuffs.
Most of those injured did not receive immediate medical attention as police stopped or blocked the road to volunteer caregivers in medical gowns bearing Red Cross insignia. Dozens of people have spent hours in custody with untreated injuries, their hands tied behind their backs.
At least 13 legal observers – who wear easily identifiable caps and badges – were also arrested, sometimes violently, before being released. In video footage, an NYPD Legal Department official was filmed instructing other officers: “ Legal observers can be arrested.… That’s good! »
NYPD’s top-ranking officer, Department Chief Terence Monahan, was present during the action, along with at least 24 other members of the police hierarchy in uniform – chiefs, lieutenants, captains or inspectors in uniform. White collar.
Police have arrested and taken into custody at least 263 people, more than in any other protest that has taken place in New York City since Floyd’s death. Some of these people were released in the evening; others the afternoon of the next day. One of them was detained for a week. Most have been charged with minor offenses, such as curfew violations or illegal assembly. They received summons or summonses to appear in court in early October. On September 3, the Bronx attorney general filed a motion to quash the summons, and on September 25, his office informed Human Rights Watch that the subpoenas would also be quashed.
New York Central Police Commissioner Dermot Shea confirmed the premeditated nature of the operation, saying at a press conference the next day: “ We had a plan that was executed almost perfectly in the Bronx. Shea described the protest as an attempt on the part of “ agitators from outside ” from “ wreak havoc », « destroy society “And” injure police officers. Human Rights Watch found that, in fact, the protest, organized by activists from the Bronx, was peaceful until police responded with violence.
In its responses to questions from Human Rights Watch, the police department asserted that “ from 8:00 p.m. “, the demonstration “ became illegal under the municipal decree imposing the curfew “, And that the arrest of persons who were not essential workers” was legal. The department also claimed that “ legal observers were not exempted as essential workers ”, Even though the Town Hall had stressed that these legal observers were not affected by the curfew. The NYPD did not respond to questions about the violence inflicted on protesters and observers, nor did it explain why its agents had caught the protesters in a trap just before the curfew began, blocking all lanes that would have allowed them to disperse.
The behavior of the police during the Mott Haven demonstration amounts to serious violations of international human rights law, and it also appears to be in violation of the civil rights protections provided for in the United States Constitution and with Police Department Patrol Guidelines.
About a hundred demonstrators and observers have made known their intention to file a complaint against the municipality. It had to pay $ 36 million in reparations for civil rights violations and related legal costs after police similarly caught in a trap and massively arrested protesters in 2004. The current leader of the department, Terence Monahan, had also played a key role in these operations.
New York State and City officials should make structural changes to reduce the role of the police in solving societal problems, including by substantially reducing the size of the police force and its budget, Human Rights Watch said. In return, the government should invest in meeting the real needs of the community, including through support for services that directly address underlying issues such as homeless people and poverty, and that seek to improve access to quality education and medical care. It should also put in place independent control systems to effectively detect bad police behavior.
« Instead of cracking down on peaceful protesters and stifling their demands for change, lawmakers in New York and across the country should listen to their grievances “, Said Ida Sawyer. “ Local authorities should finally do what is necessary to put an end to the structural racism and systematic police abuses that the residents of Mott Haven and similar communities have long suffered from. »
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Tweets
#United States : A new HRW report describes and analyzes the violent crackdown on the June 4 demonstration in Mott Haven (Bronx), and recommends major reforms to the practices of the #police of New York, especially with regard to black residents. https://t.co/PXS86TBqOo
– HRW in French (@hrw_fr) September 30, 2020
#United States : On June 4, New York City police violently cracked down on a demonstration in the Bronx. HRW has analyzed video footage, and recommends reforms to police practices. Press release in French https://t.co/PXS86TBqOo pic.twitter.com/wGRF2e0Pr5
– HRW in French (@hrw_fr) September 30, 2020
And also …
To the #United States, police often use excessive force against people with #handicap #psychosocial. Rather, we must provide them with #care emergency, according to @spinosa_rios and @JaneMBuchanan @hrw. https://t.co/JnkSto4UA8
– HRW in French (@hrw_fr) October 28, 2020
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