Less Than 10 Cops Disciplined After NYC Police Brutality Protests

NEW YORK CITY — Drivers of two NYPD cars that drove into a crowd of protesters during a police brutality rally did not face discipline because the car was not "used as a use of force," Commissioner Dermot Shea testified Monday.

In fact, Shea said less than 10 NYPD officers have faced disciplinary action after three weeks of protests — spurred by the death of George Floyd — during which New York City protesters documented cops waving a gun at crowds, flashing a possible white power sign, and stripping off a protester's mask before pepper spraying him in the face.

"I think the officers used an incredible amount of restraint in terms of allowing people to vent," Shea said. "They are tried, they are stressed, and right now they feel under appreciated."

Shea defended NYPD actions during New York City's police brutality protests to Attorney General Letitia James, whose office has held three days of hearings exploring accusations of yet more police brutality.

Read More: Shea Defends Blocking Peaceful March On Manhattan Bridge

While James quizzed Shea about numerous reports of police brutality she argued unduly endangered the lives of New Yorkers — ranging in severity from officers going unmasked during the novel coronavirus crisis to the instance when an officer shoved a woman to the ground with enough force to cause her to seizure — the NYPD commissioner insisted it was his police force that had been under attack.

"These protests were different," Shea said, defending the NYPD's use of force. "The main difference was that these were violent."

Roughly 400 NYPD officers were injured — 65 percent receiving hospital care — during the protests by protesters who threw rocks, bottles, bricks and molotov cocktails at cops, their cars and precincts, Shea testified.

About 100 of those officers have been prevented from returning to service because of their injuries, Shea said.

Shea told James, "I am thankful for their service during this challenging time and proud of their work."

James repeatedly asked Shea to specify how many cops faced discipline for their actions, finally forcing the commissioner to estimate a number.

"I'm gonna say its less than 10," Shea said. "It's in that ballpark."

Officers who will not face discipline include the cop who waved a gun at the crowds gathered on East 12th Street and Broadway on May 31.

"You had a long period of time where everything but the kitchen sink was being thrown at the officers," Shea said.

Nor will the officer who flashed the apparent "OK" hand gesture, which the Anti-Defamation League reports has been appropriated to represent the letters w and p, standing for "white power."

"You don't have the whole story on that," Shea said.

Finally, officers disciplined do not include the cops driving NYPD cars that slammed into protesters on St. Marks and Flatbush avenues on May 30, Shea said.

"They're essentially being penned in by protesters," Shea said. "The officers were set upon and attacked and thankfully were able to get out of that situation with no injuries to anyone."

James marked down Shea's responses and continued asking her questions until the attorney general and NYPD commissioner hit upon the topic of trust.

"To say no one has trust in the police department I don't think is accurate," Shea said. "I think people are afraid right now, and I think that it's sad, to say that they trust the police ... they are saying it to me privately."

"I think this is not an issue of not trusting police, it's those instances of bad cops who engage in misconduct," James replied.

"What about the instance where a police officer made a gesture which appeared to be a white nationalist gesture? Or what about the video where the officer brandished his gun? And we talked about the two cars that mowed into a crowd of peaceful protesters," James said.

"It's those videos that have had an impact on the trust that is needed for our officers to be effective."