The New York Police Department has come under fire after plainclothes officers aggressively arrested a protester, pulling her into an unmarked vehicle.
The 18-year-old trans woman Nikki Stone was forcefully grabbed off the street Tuesday as she skates during a protest against police brutality at 2nd Ave and 25th street.
The controversial tactic was compared to that deployed by federal agents in Portland, Ore., in recent weeks.
NYPD released a statement late Tuesday, and explained that Stone was taken into custody on suspicion of damaging police cameras in five incidents.
Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison posted a surveillance video on Twitter that shows a woman who appears to be Stone obscured two different cameras with paint and attempting to tear down a third with a broom.
Stone was held for five hours for processing and was released around 1am with a desk appearance ticket, for criminal mischief charges for five separate incidents.
Despite the protester’s release, some New York City elected officials continue to demand answers.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized the controversial tactic, and suggests that the officers should have chosen a less aggressive way to detain the protester.
“A lot of us have watched in pain what’s been going on in Portland, Ore. So anything that even slightly suggests that is, to me, troubling, and it’s the kind of thing we don’t want to see in this city,” the mayor said.
“That was not the time and place to effectuate that arrest. It made sense to do it in a situation that was clearly not in the middle of an ongoing protest.”
Meanwhile, Governor Cuomo expressed how disturbed he was upon watching the arrest happen.
“I’m surprised, especially at this time, that the NYPD would take such an obnoxious action, it was wholey insensitive of everything that’s going on,” he said.