De Blasio Defends NYPD After Another Night Of Protest Violence

NEW YORK CITY — Don't necessarily trust your own eyes if you see a NYPD officer violently arrest a protester seemingly for no reason.

That was Mayor Bill de Blasio's response Friday to a series of pointed questions about reports of cops violently shoving and arresting protesters in Manhattan.

Several videos, as well as reporters' accounts, from the Thursday night trans rights march from the Stonewall Inn detailed NYPD officers using bicycles to shove protesters— including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams — and detaining demonstrators seemingly at random, according to Gothamist.

De Blasio said police should respect peaceful protest but largely waved off the reports and videos of violence.

"I’ve been in enough of these after action discussions to know that what you see in front of your eyes is not always the whole story, including what someone did in the course of an evening or if they have weapons on their person and they believe they’re about to use them,” he said on WNYC's "Brian Lehrer Show."

The clashes followed a Wednesday night marked by violent interactions from police and protesters alike. NYPD officials noted some protesters set fires, spat in officers' faces and appeared to carry weapons.

De Blasio claimed this year saw the new phenomenon of some demonstrators looking to hijack peaceful protests and commit violence.

Several callers to the show and Lehrer pointed out the protest Thursday night appeared to be peaceful, and yet still faced a large, armed police response.

De Blasio condemned the practice of "kettling" and said NYPD cops should avoid violent tactics on peaceful protesters.

"There should never be more force used than necessary,” he said.