Demonstrators shouting “F— the police!” turned violent in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City on Friday evening, vandalizing city buses and police cruisers, according to reports.
Nearly 60 people were arrested in what organizers said was a protest of excessive policing of the city’s subway system.
The outburst came in the wake of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo calling for 500 additional police officers to join the state-run Metropolitan Transit Authority’s force and several viral videos showing subway arrests that some thought showed excessive force, including pointing a gun at a teenager who jumped a turnstile, New York’s WNBC-TV reported.
“F— cops and every racist, fascist person out here,” a protester who identified herself as Alicia, 22, of the Bronx, told the New York Post. “These are our neighborhoods.”
“F— cops and every racist, fascist person out here. These are our neighborhoods.”— Alicia, 22, protester from the Bronx
At one point, New York City Transit tweeted that subway lines were bypassing the 125th Street station in Harlem and videos posted online showed that police had temporarily closed the station.
NYPD was so scared of another mass fare evasion from the #FTP march in Harlem tonite that they had big groups of cops & barricades at almost every train station in the area. pic.twitter.com/qqCo2PaHTf
— Ash J (@AshAgony) November 23, 2019
Videos posted online showed crowds flowing into the streets and city police officers making arrests. One video showed a subway turnstile had been vandalized.
marching to show that the disgusting abuses of the nypd and mta will not be tolerated #FTP pic.twitter.com/tIEEMtbMIp
— luis (@qwiktwist) November 23, 2019
Someone cut open one of the turnstiles. Free fare! #ftp #mta😂 pic.twitter.com/go7ZS8Hsiw
— Vitalist International (@VitalistInt) November 23, 2019
The NYPD brought out an incredible number of cops to repress the #FTP march in Harlem tonite. One can only imagine how much money went into repressing the protest tonite. Cops spent the night making numerous violent arrests & trying to keep the protesters from taking the streets. pic.twitter.com/ZkLU6XklT9
— Ash J (@AshAgony) November 23, 2019
The New York Police Department tweeted shortly before 7 p.m. that evening commuters should expect delays in vehicular traffic and on public tranist in the area.
ADVISORY: Due to protest activity in the the area of 125th St in Upper Manhattan, expect vehicular traffic, mass transit disruptions & a heavy presence of emergency personnel in the area. Consider alternate routes and allow for additional travel time. pic.twitter.com/1p8z3jNzuM
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 22, 2019
A previous protest in the city’s Brooklyn borough on Nov. 1 drew a supportive Twitter message from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
“Ending mass incarceration means challenging a system that jails the poor to free the rich,” the left-wing freshman congresswoman tweeted, retweeting a video of protesters jumping subway turnstiles in Brooklyn.
Ending mass incarceration means challenging a system that jails the poor to free the rich.
Arresting people who can’t afford a $2.75 fare makes no one safer and destabilizes our community.
New Yorkers know that, they’re not having it, and they’re standing up for each other. https://t.co/asvidIe5zV
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 2, 2019
As of early Saturday, the congresswoman hadn’t tweeted about the Harlem protest.
In case you’re wondering how an arrest in NYC goes down. The guy has made absolutely no indication that he would flee or fight and wasn’t trying to hide.
If you can’t see, the reason everyone moved was because all the police had taken out their guns and aimed at him. pic.twitter.com/dAstrtMntz
— Elad Nehorai (@PopChassid) October 25, 2019
marching to show that the disgusting abuses of the nypd and mta will not be tolerated #FTP pic.twitter.com/tIEEMtbMIp
— luis (@qwiktwist) November 23, 2019
The city reported last year that turnstile jumpers and bus-fare cheaters cost the MTA $215 million, according to Bloomberg.
