NYPD Confirms Protester Was Arrested Using Unmarked Van in Manhattan

An NYPD police officer wears a Blue Line face mask indicating support for law enforcement in Brooklyn, N.Y., on June 25, 2020. (Lloyd Mitchell/Reuters)

A protester was arrested Tuesday during a protest in Manhattan and placed in an unmarked van, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has confirmed.

Video footage of the incident, which was widely circulated on social media, showed the moment a group of plainclothes officers wrestled the 18-year-old Nikki Stone to the pavement, and pushed her into the unmarked gray minivan.

Her arrest was confirmed in a series of tweets from the NYPD late Tuesday.

“In regard to a video on social media that took place at 2 Ave. & 25 St., a woman taken into custody in an unmarked van was wanted for damaging police cameras during five separate criminal incidents in and around City Hall Park,” the NYPD said in a statement.

The department claimed the arresting officers were assaulted with rocks and bottles. Stone was among 12 people who were arrested, according to the NYPD.

“When officers from the Warrant Squad took the woman into custody in a gray NYPD minivan this evening, they were assaulted with rocks and bottles. The Warrant Squad uses unmarked vehicles to effectively locate wanted suspects,” the NYPD continued.

“When she was placed into the Warrant Squad’s unmarked gray minivan, it was behind a cordon of NYPD bicycle cops in bright yellow and blue uniform shirts there to help effect the arrest.”

According to the New York Post, Stone has since been released from the 1st Precinct station house. The teen protester was accompanied by some dozen Black Lives Matter protesters as she left custody, according to the news outlet.

New York City Council member Carlina Rivera said on Twitter that she received confirmation of Stone’s release.

“Now it’s time to hear from @NYCMayor about how he will address this arrest and the future of unidentifiable policing in NYC,” she added.

The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

Footage of Stone’s arrest was described as “incredibly disturbing” by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, while New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said that he was “deeply concerned by the videos circulating.”

“We need answers,” Johnson said on Twitter.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has yet to comment on the incident.