On May 18th, the New York City Police Department cracked down on a pro-Palestinian protest in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, which was criticized for its brutal suppression. However, Mayor Adams came out in support of the police, praising their actions as well.
Over 800 pro-Palestinian demonstrators braved the heavy rain to march through the streets of Bay Ridge, commemorating the annual “Nakba Day” event (referring to Israel’s Independence Day on May 15th). Clashes erupted between protesters and police, leading to the arrest of 41 individuals. Independent journalists on X platform shared videos showing several high-ranking NYPD officers shoving protesters to the ground and repeatedly striking them. The video quickly went viral online, sparking criticism of police violence.
State Senator Andrew Gounardes, representing the area, remarked on X platform that Bay Ridge is home to New York’s largest Palestinian community and that previous protests there had never encountered such violent police aggression. City Council member Justin Brannan also commented on X platform that it appeared the NYPD mobilized officers from across the city, escalating the conflict and engaging in preemptive and retaliatory attacks on the protesters. Donna Lieberman, the Executive Director of the NYCLU, released a statement expressing concern that the aggressive crackdown by the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group violated freedom of speech and suppressed political expression.
However, the NYPD also released videos of Bay Ridge residents complaining about the protest, highlighting instances where some protesters spat at police officers, threw objects, launched flares, jumped onto moving buses, and resisted arrest.
The NYPD stated on X platform that they will not tolerate any illegal or non-peaceful protest activities. Among the 41 arrested individuals, 36 were not from Bay Ridge or New York City, and one-third of those arrested had previous records related to non-peaceful protests.
Mayor Adams, in an interview with NY1 News on May 20th, described the police beating of protesters in the video as an “isolated incident” and announced that the city government would investigate. He criticized outside agitators for causing trouble and commended the police for their handling of the situation that day. In another interview with 1010Wins radio on the same day, he even went as far as saying the police “deserve praise”.