NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- At least three people were arrested and several protesters were pepper-sprayed at the Queer Liberation March Sunday afternoon in Manhattan.
The peaceful protest that began at Foley Square turned violent just after 4 p.m. on Sunday in Washington Square Park as officers tried to arrest at least one person caught trying to graffiti an NYPD vehicle.
Groups of marchers claim that as they made their way into the park, an NYPD officer attempted to arrest a marcher.
The police just started a riot at Washington square park pic.twitter.com/Zb7VyQvPI9
— Mike Perles (@mike__perles) June 28, 2020
A crowd gathered to object and began chanting "Let him go" when NYPD officers rushed in and attacked with pepper spray, according to marchers.
One NYPD member reached out to slam a woman on a bicycle to the ground. Other marchers were punched and violently shoved, according to a statement released by the Reclaim Pride Committee.
"I wish that I could say what I saw today was shocking, but how could I reasonably expect anything else from the NYPD," said Jake Tolan, one of the March organizers. "51 years after the Stonewall Rebellion, the NYPD is still responding to peaceful, powerful, righteous queer joy with pepper spray, batons, and handcuffs. Thank you, Commissioner Shea and the entire NYPD, for continuing to show us why you should be abolished."
Officials tell 1010 WINS that more people were arrested at the scene because people began to intervene as officers tried to apprehend a few individuals.
The protesting marked the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, which started on June 28, 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn, a well-known gay bar on Christopher Street.
