New York City community activist Tony Herbert told “Fox & Friends” Thursday that he participated in a march the day before that turned violent against New York Police Department (NYPD) officers, calling it a “discouraging”.
“Our march was not a protest,” said Herbert. “It was a statement saying, ‘We are uniting as New Yorkers to stop the madness.'”
He went on to say that seeing the violence against “police officers who are only doing their job” was “unfortunate.”
“They did not go and attack anyone, they were attacked by others and that was not right,” said Herbert.
Herbert made the comments the morning after a protester assaulted a group of New York police officers, including the department’s highest-ranking uniformed member, during a demonstration on the Brooklyn Bridge, according to police and footage from the attack.
The video shows someone from the group along the bridge approaching the edge of the fence, leaning over and striking officers huddled against the barrier.
The New York Police Department announced that at least three officers suffered serious injuries after someone threw a long object at officers while arresting someone.
A police department spokesman said Department Chief Terence Monahan is the other member of the white-shirted department seen in the video with the group at the time of the attack and suffered a hand injury that does not endanger the lifetime. Monahan was one of the members of the New York police who was praised for kneeling with protesters during a June 1 demonstration in the city.
FAMILY OF A YEAR OLD MURDERED IN NYC GUNMAN SAYS: “YOU TOOK THE LIFE OF MY SON … YOU CAN GO TO HELL”
After the first hand-to-hand combat, another chaotic fight ensued between more protesters and the police near where the first one occurred. An officer suffered a broken basin, New York Police Lt. John Grimpel told Fox News. In total, 37 people were arrested for the protest.
Herbert said he learned that a flyer had come out on Wednesday morning “calling on people to mobilize at 8 am to be anti-protesters to our peace march.” He noted that he learned that many of the “anti-protesters” were from out of state.
Herbert explained that the peace march was “led by the clergy and we partnered with the Benevolent Association of Sergeants and other community organizations.”
“We had people from the NAACP and other civil rights organizations marching with us, as well as people from the community,” he said.
“Seeing what had happened within inches of us … was daunting,” Herbert continued.
“Here he is talking about a peace march, I don’t know what memo they got regarding what might have been, but it was about unifying our city for those of us who live here and creating an opportunity for us to come to the table and have a positive dialogue. “
Herbert has joined Brooklyn County President Eric Adams in calling on the New York Police Department to reestablish his recently closed crime unit as the Big Apple continues to fight rising armed violence.
The call from one of the city’s most influential black leaders comes days after the tragic shooting death of 1-year-old Davell Gardner, who was shot in the stomach with a bullet during a family meal.
Herbert told CBS New York this week that “the guns keep firing and now we have a one-year-old son and the blood is in the hands of the mayor and the state legislature.”
The New York Police Crime Fighting Unit closed in mid-June amid protests over the death of George Floyd, and its approximately 600 plainclothes officers were reassigned to other divisions.
Last weekend alone, there were 28 shooting incidents and 35 victims in the city’s five municipal districts, compared to just five incidents and six victims during the same period Friday through Sunday last year, the Police Department said from New York to Fox News.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
New York Police and De Blasio’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Fox News’ Courtney Crawford, Stephanie Pagones and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
