Police arrested two Bronx men in connection with the Brooklyn Bridge camera-caught police attack, including New York Police Department Chief Terence Monahan, who on Thursday described the suspected assailants as “anarchists” .
Quran Campbell, 25, of the Bronx, was accused of attacking three separate officers, police said. Shayborn Banks, also 25 and from the Bronx, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a lieutenant and criminal possession of a weapon.
“They are part of this anarchist group that has infiltrated this Black Lives movement from the beginning,” Monahan said in “Good Day New York.” “This is what we have been dealing with since the first protest after George Floyd. It is a legitimate movement, but it is being hijacked by these anarchists, and they are the ones who have been attacking our police officers. [and] they’re hiding behind the many, many peaceful protesters out there. “
When asked about Mayor Bill de Blasio’s actions after the attack on the bridge, Monahan said that Hizzoner “called me right after, asked about officers, asked about my well-being.”
“I would not expect the mayor to be on the bridge with me while this is happening,” he said.
The department’s highest-ranking uniformed member said he was “bruised” Wednesday morning when other assailants attacked police officers trying to arrest them on the road.
“I have some bruises on my body, my hands, fingers got stuck, nothing broken,” said Monahan.
Two other police officers with him were beaten, he said.
“My sergeant who works with me was hit on the head with a stick,” Monahan said. “They put eight staples on his head, one of the lieutenants on the catwalk was attacked by an individual: he had a broken orbital bone on his face.”
“That is the individual I approached and had to fight with,” added the boss, identifying the attacker as Campbell. “I was beaten several times by him, but we were able to put him in custody.”
Meanwhile, the attacker caught in video club police with a baton is still on the loose, Monahan said.
“We are working very hard with our detectives to get the individual with the baton,” he said. “That is the person we want to take into custody.”
During the attack on the bridge, Monahan said, he did not think twice about the City Council’s anti-strangulation bill, which includes a part he previously called “dangerous”: a ban on maneuvers that would press a suspect’s diaphragm.
“As a police officer, we make arrests,” said Monahan. “I can’t think about that bill or worry about it while fighting someone. It’s what I had to do yesterday, it wasn’t on my mind and I asked my cops, ‘Don’t worry about this, if you’re doing the right thing, if you’re using a reasonable amount of force to put someone in custody, don’t worry about that bill. ‘”
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