Recently, official reports from the NYPD have revealed the number of police officers injured during anti-police protests this year.
Out of 7,528 NYPD officers who have aided in the first-line-of-duty in the 2020 anti-police protests, 472 have gotten hurt.
This number includes officers from all ranks with different levels of injuries. According to the report, officers have been involved in regulating these demonstrations since May 28th. The report categorizes injuries by types.
Many officers have been assaulted with rocks, bricks, and other items. Some have been shot and others stabbed. The official graphs also reported that some officers were run down by demonstrators in cars.
Out of 472 officers, 319 had to receive medical care at the hospital. Even Lieutenant Richard Mack was assaulted violently during the Brooklyn Bridge protests in July.
Many NYPD representatives have spoken against violence. NYPD spokeswoman Sargent Mary Frances O’Donnell gave an official statement to The New York Post. “This behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Another spokesperson, Sargent Joseph Imperatrice, claimed, “The average person doesn’t hear about the daily assaults and injuries to police officers. Officers are hurt every single day whether in regards to being assigned to routine patrol or a riot location”
Imperatrice is the founder of Blue Lives Matter, a countermovement against Black Lives Matter.
On September 24th, the official report was released. According to the report, there was a 47% increase in the number of front-line officers from last year. In 2019, the NYPD deployed 5,133 people to control BLM protests.
Many protesters have been arrested for assault and violence. In June, 12 people were arrested looting Bloomingdales in NYC.
Also in June, one upstate woman and two lawyers were caught charged with arson and federal explosives. They allegedly tossed Molotov cocktails at police cars during the demonstration.
Supporters of the movement have both criticized and supported these violent outbreaks. In regards to the NYPD report, supporters have framed police officers as more deadly than demonstrators as in the last year, ‘more than 1000 people were shot, injured, or assaulted by’ police officers in the NYPD county.
According to BLM supporters on social media, this report paints a one-dimensional portrait of a very complex issue.