2 Bronx Men Charged After Counter-Protesters Disrupt Peaceful Unity March in Brooklyn

A NYPD police offer wears a Blue Line mask indicating support for law enforcement at the scene of a shooting in Brooklyn, N.Y., on June 25, 2020. (Lloyd Mitchell/Reuters)

NYPD officials said two Bronx men were arrested after anti-police activists disrupted a peaceful march and attacked police officers in Brooklyn.

Shayborn Banks, 25, was arrested and charged with assaulting a lieutenant, the department said, along with Quran Campbell, 25, who was charged with assaulting three officers, CBS NY reported.

NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan was among the officers who were injured, the NYPD said.

The incident took place Wednesday as alleged Black Lives Matter protesters attempted to disrupt a march that included Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faith leaders, who were joined by police unions, law enforcement, Black Veterans for Social Justice, and others. They were calling for a stop to violence in New York City, which has seen a spike in shootings and assaults in recent weeks, according to local reports.

A Black Lives Matter protester, Jonathan Lykes, claimed to CBS NY that police were targeting their side, alleging that police “set us up intentionally” to be arrested.

Authorities said that the anti-police counter-protesters left at least eight NYPD officers injured during the clashes, according to Newsday. The anti-police demonstrators are also accused of smashing a window of a government building nearby during the fracas.

The NYPD posted a video of the incident, writing that officers “were violently attacked by protesters” on the Brooklyn Bridge, saying some “sustained serious injuries.”

“Three of our officers were brutally attacked by protesters today. These are the conditions your officers have to operate in every day while they continue to protect your neighborhoods. Such assaults are ALWAYS unacceptable, and should outrage us all,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea added in a Twitter statement.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a Thursday news conference that attacks on police officers wouldn’t be tolerated.

“There’s no situation in which it is acceptable to attack a police officer. Period,” De Blasio said, adding that he spoke to Monahan following the incident. “Here’s what is the reality: anyone who does that will suffer the consequences.”

The Democrat mayor elaborated: “We’ve said this now for months, I’ve said it very clearly: peaceful protest is honored in New York City, always has been. There is no acceptable violent protest. Any violent protest will be stopped and there'll be consequences for anyone involved and anyone.”