At least three people were arrested after Pride demonstrators clashed with police officers in New York City Sunday evening, the New York Post reported.
It’s unclear what sparked the conflict between the demonstrators and officers, according to the Post. Officers tried to establish a perimeter as people fought and were pushed to the ground, video shows.
Police deployed pepper spray in response to demonstrators throwing bottles and tampering with metal barricades in Washington Square Park, according to the Post.
A woman claimed she saw four people who “were marching and enjoying Pride, nothing else,” pepper-sprayed in the area.
“They were just on the floor,” the woman said, the Post reported. “I saw people on the floor rubbing their eyes.”
There’s talk of mace happening right now at Washington Square Park. There is a sea of cops here. pic.twitter.com/sxPqvA0dKM
— Christine Chung (@chrisychung) June 27, 2021
New York Police Department officers were dressed in riot gear and riding bicycles next to the park where the Pride celebration was held, according to the Post.
“I am currently watching NYPD charge Washington Square Park with riot gear (helmets, pepper spray, batons) … potentially to break up pride celebrations? It certainly looks like they are confronting people celebrating pride from my vantage point,” Business Insider Reporter Meridith Cash wrote on Twitter.
When asked what was happening at the park, an NYPD legal representative allegedly told Cash, “Oh, nothing. Everyone who was at the parade is now at the park. A little while ago we had a bottle-throwing incident.”
Law enforcement officials ordered the crowd to disperse from the area and arrested those who refused to comply, according to the Post. (RELATED: ‘To Create Safer Spaces’: NYC Pride Bans Cops From Attending Events Until 2025)
The NYPD did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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