Police puzzled in Times Sq. ram
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the NYPD knows the identity of the driver who ran into a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters in Times Square — but cops are unsure if the “dangerous” driving was criminal.
“Right now, we have nobody that came forward that is saying they were injured or that will cooperate but we are asking anyone,” the city’s top cop said Friday morning.
When asked if a crime was committed, Shea responded, “Well, that’s what we want to see as part of the investigation, we have to interview both sides.
“Anyone that was in that vehicle, because we believe there were multiple people in that vehicle, and anyone that was on the scene and certainly anyone that was injured,” he added, calling on witnesses to come forward.
One self-described passenger did come forward later Friday — Juliet Germanotta, 39, who told the “Freedom News” Web site that she was in the car when it was surrounded by a crowd of screaming protesters who struck the car and tried to barge inside.
“I heard something really heavy hit the car and that’s when we just went,” she said.
The dramatic confrontation broke out as the crowd of demonstrators protesting police brutality marched through Times Square on Thursday night.
The black Ford Taurus, which looks similar to a police car with a grille guard known as a bull bar in front, approached Broadway on West 46th Street at around 8 p.m.
At least two protesters with bicycles stood in front of the vehicle, attempting to prevent it from passing as the crowd crossed the street, according to reports.
Once the car pulled up to the intersection, Shea said, “a bicyclist blocked the car from moving” and “two people strike the car window, one with a punch, one banging on it.”
The driver of the car stopped briefly initially — but then suddenly hit the gas and drove through the screaming protesters.
“And then you have the car speed away right through the crowd,” Shea said.
Video shows the car had a red light at the intersection.
“We’re really lucky that it didn’t have a vehicle collision with other cars,” Shea said.