New video appears to show N.Y. anti-police protesters receiving shipment of bats before attack on officers

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:44 AM PT — Thursday, July 16, 2020

New surveillance footage appears to show a group of protesters receiving a small shipment of wooden bats right before anti-police demonstrators attacked officers on the Brooklyn Bridge.
The New York Post released video showing a man near New York City Hall retrieving at least six bats from a car’s trunk Wednesday morning.
According to police sources, the bats were used to confront the ‘Unity Rally’ taking place, which included community activists, clergy and law enforcement calling for the end of violence in the city as well as a need for dialogue about racial injustice and police reform.
“We support police and we need their help because this city’s becoming a warzone,” stated Tamara Lashchyk, a Unity March demonstrator.
“The police are here to help us not to hurt us, so we need people to come out and report these shootings,”said Clyde Jasmin, another demonstrator. “And report these senseless violence and hopefully we get our city back.”
When activists from the Unity March made their way across Brooklyn Bridge, they were soon met by several counter-protesters who were arguing that their march was too supportive of police.
Police soon began to clear out these counter-protesters when several began to attack. Several officers present were injured, including the city’s police chief. Nearly 40 counter-protesters were arrested.


“They didn’t want a counter-protest, they didn’t want democracy, they didn’t want freedom in this moment,” said Jonathan Lykes, an anti-police protester.
It’s unclear if they used the shipment of bats appearing in footage in the Brooklyn Bridge attack, however, police have said at least one has been recovered from the scene. Meanwhile, separate footage shows the activists using a cane and debris to hit officers.


The latest violence in New York City adds to the continued calls for the removal of Mayor Bill de Blasio as many have said he’s failed to put a stop to the city’s escalating violence.
“Andrew Cuomo really needs to step in and take control of the city,” stated Ed Mullins of the Sergeants Benevolent Association. “The city needs law and order, it’s unfair bodies are dropping in these communities.”
This comes as de Blasio signed a series of police reform bills on Wednesday and made no mention of the Brooklyn Bridge incident.

 A Black Lives Matter protester is apprehended by NYPD officers on Brooklyn Bridge, Wednesday, July 15, 2020, in New York. Several New York City police officers were attacked and injured Wednesday on the Brooklyn Bridge during a protest sparked by the death of George Floyd.

https://www.oann.com/new-video-appears-to-show-n-y-anti-police-protesters-receiving-shipment-of-bats-before-attack-on-officers/