Car Rams Times Square Protesters; Pols Pledge To Investigate

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A car plowed through an anti-racism protest in Times Square Thursday night, according to video footage and multiple reports from the scene, prompting pledges by elected officials in Midtown to investigate.

The black Ford Taurus sped through the crowd shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday before turning east onto 46th Street, according to WNYC reporter Gwynne Hogan. Several protesters were hit, but appeared to have only suffered minor injuries, Hogan reported.

Midtown City Councilmember Keith Powers said his office would investigate the incident, while Council Speaker Corey Johnson condemned the footage of an "incredibly reckless and disturbing action through a lawful protest."

"We must get to the bottom of it. We need accountability," Johnson tweeted.

Protesters and Twitter users speculated that the Taurus matched vehicles sometimes used by the NYPD, but the department tweeted that the car did not belong to them.

No driver was apprehended at the scene, according to Gothamist.

My office is looking into tonight’s incident in Times Square. Hoping everyone is safe.

Using a vehicle to hurt peaceful protestors is unacceptable and must be stopped.
— Keith Powers (@KeithPowersNYC) September 4, 2020

The demonstrators had gathered in Times Square to protest the killing of Daniel Prude, a Rochester man who died of asphyxiation in March after police officers put a hood over his head and pressed his face into the pavement for two minutes.

Video of Prude's arrest was released Wednesday by his family and has circulated widely, as his family calls for the police officers involved to be fired and charged with murder. New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating Prude's death.

Cars have rammed marchers on multiple occasions since protests swept the city in June, including an NYPD SUV that sped into a crowd in Brooklyn and another SUV driver who hit bicyclists in Times Square in July.

This video shows an incredibly reckless and disturbing action through a lawful protest.

We must get to the bottom of it. We need accountability. https://t.co/dC56Sw7xcY
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) September 4, 2020

This is incredibly disturbing. My staff is reaching out to the city. https://t.co/jE54kA8R9O
— Senator Brad Hoylman (@bradhoylman) September 4, 2020