Crowd crashers
Two sue NYPD for hitting them with SUVs
Two George Floyd protestors are suing the NYPD, claiming they were injured when a pair of police vehicles drove into a crowd of Brooklyn demonstrators in May.
Alexander Korpi, 28, and David Ginn, 38, were among dozens of protesters on the streets of Prospect Heights on May 30 when two police SUVs suddenly accelerated into the crowd, knocking people down and sending others screaming and fleeing in an incident caught on video, they told the Daily News Monday.
Before the vehicles drove into the group, video shows some protesters hurling water bottles and trash bags at a stationary cop car. Another NYPD SUV pulls up, with its siren on, before both cars drive into the crowd, the video shows.
“There were no cars coming down that road and there were the two NYPD cars parked right there. They were stopped. There was no indication they were going to drive through and then they plowed right through,” Korpi said.
One of the SUVs slammed into Korpi’s side, knocking him to the ground, he claims.
“It hit right into my body and I fell onto my leg and injured my leg and ankle,” Korpi said.
He received medical treatment for a sprained left ankle and bruising on his legs, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in Brooklyn Supreme Court. He said he still has trouble walking due to pain in his ankle.
Ginn, who was also in the crowd, said he raised his hands to try to get one of the SUVs to stop when he saw it driving into the crowd.
“I put my arms out in a clear signal for the vehicle to stop,” he told The News. “There were people behind me. These were peaceful protests for families and residents of New York to come out. I didn’t know who was behind me but I knew there were plenty of people and I wanted to protect them from that danger as much as possible.”
The NYPD van drove into Ginn and he was thrust onto the windshield, then fell to the side, slamming his head into the pavement, according to the suit.
He was treated for his injuries and had to wear a splint on his hand for six weeks, the lawsuit claims.
Ginn and Korpi, cousins from Long Island who came to the protest together, both work for movie production agencies, according to the suit.
The lawsuit, filed by Caitlin Robin and Associates, lists 10 still-unidentified NYPD officers as defendants in the case. The law firm is seeking additional witnesses and victims of the incident to come forward as well.
“The NYPD will review the lawsuit if and when we are served,” said Denise Moroney, a Police Department spokeswoman.
At a press conference the evening of the incident, Mayor de Blasio did not condemn the officers for driving into the crowd.
“The video was upsetting and I wish the officers hadn’t done that but I also understood that they didn’t start the situation. The situation was started by a group of protesters converging on a police vehicle, attacking that vehicle.... The officers have to get out of that situation,” De Blasio said at the presser outside the Office of Emergency Management in Brooklyn Heights.
Korpi disagreed.
“It felt like gaslighting” from the mayor, he told The News.
“There was no one behind the car or on the side of the car,” Korpi claimed. “You can see it on the video as well. There was no indication the cops were surrounded and it was shocking the city did not come out in support of us.”