NYPD Denies Connection To Car That Rammed Times Square Protesters

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The NYPD on Friday continued to deny that it had anything to do with the car that rammed into Black Lives Matter protesters in Times Square Thursday night, amid reports that the vehicle was filled with pro-police counterprotesters who had received an NYPD escort away from the area.

One widely-shared video appears to show NYPD officers escorting a group of people into the black Ford Taurus, moments before the car plowed into a group of protesters around 8 p.m., injuring several.

A police spokesperson told Gothamist Friday that the Taurus was filled with pro-police counterprotesters who had been asked to leave the area. Officers had ushered the group through a nearby hotel parking lot but "missed the turn," leading them to drive toward the crowd, Gothamist reported.

State Sen. Brad Hoylman, who represents Midtown, asked Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea on Twitter whether any NYPD officers were inside the vehicle, and why police had escorted the group. Hoylman has also sent formal questions to the city and the NYPD, his spokesperson told Patch.

.@NYPDnews, @NYCMayor:

1) Was an officer inside this vehicle?
2) Why did you provide an escort to a vehicle that was then allowed to drive directly into a crowd?
3) Does the NYPD have protocols to consider cars as potential weapons given their use as such by white supremacists? https://t.co/t2DND1UQfz
— Senator Brad Hoylman (@bradhoylman) September 4, 2020

An NYPD spokesperson reached by Patch was unable to confirm the Gothamist report, saying the incident was still under investigation.

The NYPD has denied that the car belonged to them, and has asked anyone injured in the collision to come forward and assist with the investigation.

In an appearance on Good Day New York Friday morning, Shea said police were still investigating whether a crime had been committed. He added that “we have a lot of information” about the incident, including an idea of who was inside the car.

Gothamist reported that the vehicle's license plate matches that of a car frequently shared on social media by Hakim Gibson, a pro-NYPD activist who was at Thursday's counter-protest.

Multiple elected officials have pledged to investigate the collision.

Several hundred 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.