Surveillance video from outside City Hall appears to show protesters receiving a small shipment of bats before anti-police activists clashed with officers on the Brooklyn Bridge on Wednesday morning.
The delivery was made by a car parked on the street near the City Hall, with a man seen retrieving six bats from the trunk, according to images provided by sources.
Police sources said the bats were released so that anti-police activists could face a “unity” rally taking place over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan.
The unity meeting included clergymen, law enforcement officers, and community activists.
It is unclear whether the City Council protesters used the bats in the wild Brooklyn Bridge fight between opposition protesters. But at least one recovered after the dust settled, police sources said.
A baton was also used in hand-to-hand combat, with a counter-protester seen on video using the object to hit police officers over the head during hand-to-hand combat on the bridge.
In all, four police officers, including Department Chief Terence Monahan, the highest-ranking uniformed officer of the New York Police Department, and a civilian were wounded in the confrontation, sources said.
New York police said 37 people were arrested.
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