The 27-second video, which was posted to Twitter, shows an NYPD truck in front of a crowd throwing objects at the vehicle. There is a barricade in front of the truck. The truck then appears to drive into the barricade, knocking over protestors. Screaming and yelling are then heard while a person is seen jumping on top of the truck. It’s unclear if there were any injuries.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the incident is under investigation, but emphasized that the officers may have had no other choice.
“I’m not going to blame officers who were trying to deal with an absolutely impossible situation. The folks who were converging on that police car did the wrong thing to begin with, and they created an untenable situation,” he said. “I wish the officers had found a different approach, but let’s begin at the beginning. The protesters in that video did the wrong thing to surround that police car, period.”
The mayor emphasized late Saturday that he had spoken with community leaders and there is a possibility that there are protesters who are intentionally trying to incite violence including those who have come to New York City from other places.
“People who represent the communities of our city and the residents of our city are not joining negative and violent protests,” de Blasio said.
CNN has reached out to the NYPD, New York governor and Attorney General’s office for comment. Earlier today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he ordered the state attorney general to independently review the events of Friday’s protests that included protesters clashing with police in Brooklyn and other boroughs.