Protesters run amok in B’klyn
Hundreds of protesters descended upon Downtown Brooklyn Tuesday night — leaving a trail of destruction and targeting NYPD cops over the Philadelphia police shooting death of an armed black man.
The group assembled in Fort Greene Park before snaking its way through the streets, vandalizing police vehicles, torching an American flag and setting at least one rubbish fire, according to footage posted on social media by video journalist Issa Khari.
“Burn the precinct to the ground, every city, every town!” the protesters, most of them clad all in black, chanted as they marched at Boerum Place and Livingston Street.
At Willoughby and Jay streets, several protesters chucked rocks and bottles at police officers, sources said.
Others were spotted tagging with graffiti random buildings in their path.
One man spray-painted “RIP Walter,” on a building facade, a reference to Walter Wallace Jr., whose death they were protesting
Wallace, 27, was armed with a knife that he refused to drop before he was shot dead by Philadelphia police on Monday.
At about 10 p.m. Tuesday, as protesters made it into Brooklyn Heights, they were met by police in riot gear on Atlantic Avenue near Smith Street.
Cops ordered the group to leave, with announcements saying those who did would not be charged. But some of the protesters tried to run past the officers, leading to a confrontation and multiple arrests.
At the same intersection, a car drove through a line of police officers. It’s unclear if the occupants were affiliated with the protest.