‘Demands’ jail time for graffiti
An impassioned NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea on Thursday demanded jail time for the anarchists busted for allegedly causing mayhem in Manhattan on Tuesday night — including by scrawling messages such as, “Kill cops” — in protest over the police shooting death of Daunte Wright this week in Minnesota.
Five men and three women — who are in their 20s and 30s, and hail from Westchester County and from every borough except Staten Island — were arrested on the Upper East Side around 10:15 p.m., cops said.
Some of those arrested are members of the anarchist group known as the “Black Bloc.”
“I’m past asking,” Shea said at a late-morning press conference. “I’m actually demanding at this point. They need to go to jail. They need to be held accountable. They were arrested for misdemeanors. They cannot be not prosecuted. We are going to follow these arrests . . . [For a] misdemeanor in New York state, you’re eligible for up to a year in jail.”
He added: “Well, I can’t think of anyone that deserves a year in jail better than that.”
The vandals were hit with charges including assault on a police officer, rioting, resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration and possession of a graffiti instrument, authorities said.
Some of the group allegedly spray-painted “Kill cops,” “F--k the cops,” and “ACAB” — which stands for “All cops are bastards” — on walls, doors and cars, including a Range Rover.
“You had an incident on 76/77 Street, Fifth to Madison, last night where a number of arrests were made,” Shea said. “You had windows broken, at least one window broken. You had people’s cars graffitied. You had people spray-painting “kill cops”? “Kill cops,” he said. “This is why we have memorials for cops. Because, as I’ve said, and you’re probably tired of me saying that, but I’m not going to stop saying it — words matter and spreading hate.”
Among those arrested was Finbarr Sionim, 23, of the Upper East Side, cops said.
He was previously arrested in 2018 outside the Metropolitan Republican Club, where he was protesting a speech by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, cops said.
He and two others were freed without bail on charges of felony burglary and misdemeanor assault for Wednesday’s vandalism.
The remaining seven suspects busted are Mikael Bucknavage, 23, of Mamaroneck; Lawrence Tandol, 24, of Marble Hill; Theodora Williams, 22, of Washington Heights; Kimberly Banks, 22, of Flushing; Eli Sairs, 35, and Katrina Clark, 30, both of Bushwick; and Christian Valencia, 26, of East Flatbush, cops said.
The vandalism was the first notably destructive protest in the city over the police killing of Wright, who was shot and killed by officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Police have claimed Potter mistakenly drew her gun when she meant to hit Wright with a Taser during the stop.