Cops Who Rammed Squad Cars into Protesters Should be Charged, Says Oversight Agency  – Streetsblog New York City

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Cops who used their patrol cars as deadly weapons to target a crowd of protesters during the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 must face disciplinary action, the Civil Complaints Board said.

Two members of New York’s best, officers Daniel Alvarez and Andrei Samusev, used illegal force when they rammed their New York jeep into the crowd by hitting Aaron Ross, one of thousands of protesters on the streets of Brooklyn on May 30. , only five days later. the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

Now, almost two years later, the supervisory agency has proven the allegations against these employees and recommends discipline, according to Gotamistwho received and first reported on letter sent to Ross concerning the decision of his case.

Activists and police at the time were quick to call for these cops to be held accountable. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on officers to “face justice”.

But former mayor de Blasio says he has not seen the video, which shocked the city. He also said at the time that protesters should not have surrounded New York City police cars.

A spokesman for the CCRB could not comment on the letter, citing still active case which will now focus on
department for administrative prosecution of the agency. And whether officers will actually face discipline – including something from a few lost days of leave or a complete suspension – depends on NYPD Commissioner Kichant Sewell, who retains sole authority over punishment, despite efforts to reform the police disciplinary process.

The CCRB’s letter to Ross also said that another employee had been named, Arthur Roldan, who had abused his authority by threatening and forcibly damaging a person’s property, the agency said.

Separately, Ross filed his own lawsuit against New York City police over the same incident, alleging that officers “intentionally or negligently, negligently and recklessly” drove their car into barricades that hit him. That court trial is pending, according to court records.

The horrific incident with cops beating up protesters was just one of many cases of aggression by police since Floyd’s assassination. Cops also misused their bicycles as a weapon, a crucial but lesser-known aspect of a bomb report issued in late 2020 by the Department of Investigation that called on New York City police to use force.

Former DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett said police in general and the controversial Strategic Response Group in particular had abused their power and misappropriated their bicycles as weapons against peaceful protesters.

“In the report, we talk about SRG’s training policy, in particular through barricades, the use of bicycles. This is a complex issue, these tactics and techniques are appropriate in some circumstances, but the question is different: “Were they used appropriately in these circumstances?” Garnett said at the time. “Our overall finding is that these tactics have been overused in a disproportionate way.

And the report was followed by a coalition of local police who called on New York City police to stop using their bicycles as weapons to prevent protesters from marching peacefully in the streets.

The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment, and City Hall declined to comment. But earlier in the weekMayor Adams suggested that the Black Lives Matter protesters were not really interested in fighting crime.