Ruckus at Council hearing on NYPD’s special SRG unit

About a dozen protesters, some making noise with squeeze toys, were ejected fro

a City Council hearing Monday morning as they called for the end of a controversial NYPD unit.

“Disband the SRG,” the protesters yelled, referring to the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, as security personnel quickly moved to escort them from the City Hall hearing.

The Strategic Response Group’s controversial tactics at the George Floyd protests have cost taxpayers upward of $6 million in lawsuit settlements.

Monday’s protesters drew a sharp rebuke from Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Queens).

“You will respect this body,” she said. “The use of squeaky toys — you will be removed.”

The outburst was preceded at times by some of the protesters flashing thumbs-down signs as police officials discussed various issues during its preliminary $5.44 billion budget hearing. The hearing followed a no-show three weeks ago when NYPD brass skipped a hearing called specifically to discuss the SRG.

Police instead sent a statement saying a court-issued “gag order” was in place because the city was still dealing with multiple lawsuits in which the SRG was accused of wrongdoing. Various City Council members, however, said the department was out of line by not appearing and threatened to cut police funding.

At Monday’s hearing, Chief Wilson Aramboles explained the role of the SRG, but a department lawyer, Assistant Deputy Commissioner Carrie Talansky, said questions about specific allegations still could not be addressed.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, meanwhile, said, “It was never the intention of this Police Department to disrespect” the Council by not appearing at the earlier SRG hearing.

That earlier hearing came on the same day it was revealed the city had agreed to pay at least $21,500 apiece to more than 300 people who on June 4, 2020, protested in Mott Haven, the Bronx, against police brutality and systemic racism.

Footage of the chaotic event shows police employing a controversial tactic known as “kettling” to barricade protesters on E. 136th St., refusing to let them disperse, hitting them with batons while their hands were in zip ties and pepper-spraying their bloodied faces.

More than 300 people were arrested. The NYPD has said they believed there were credible threats targeting police officers with violence.