Violence In NYC: Responding NYPD Met With Flying Bottles In Harlem

NYPD officers who responded to a shots fired report in Harlem were met with flying glass bottles as violence in the city raged over the weekend.

Police arrived at 7^th Avenue and 133^rd Street around 3:45 a.m. Sunday after they were alerted by a shot spotter activation, a technology by the department that detects the sound of gunfire. According to NBC New York, responding officers found half a dozen .45 caliber shell casings and two fired bullets.

Glass bottles and other debris came raining on authorities after they tried to disperse a crowd of around 500 people. One glass bottle broke a police vehicle's windshield and another broke a passenger side window amid the chaos, the network added.

“This is the kind of lawlessness we're starting to see in New York City, and if it's not stopped and not stopped soon, it's only going to get exponentially worse,” said John Jay College criminal justice professor Joseph Giacalone.

Giacalone also pointed out that the city's elected leaders, including the City Council and “especially the mayor,” have not been helping to contain the violence.

Meanwhile, the city's largest police union, the New York City Police Benevolent Association, shared the unruly incident on their Twitter page and, just like Giacalone, blamed Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Speaker Corey Johnson for “surrendering the city.”

“This is what 'light touch' looks like: Police officers responding to a shots fired job in Harlem last night were met with this,” said the Association, through Fox News.

The New York Daily News on the other hand shared a video of Instagram user bagluck showing the crowd hurling bottles at officers. Police vehicles that were idling on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard and 132^nd Street became a target of about a dozen men and women who were sitting in the bed of a red pickup truck.

Police told the outlet they stayed at the scene until the crowd dispersed at around 6:20 a.m. No arrests were made while the incident is under investigation.

“People have been cooped up with COVID and everything else. Plus it was late, people were drinking. That's when things like that start happening,” said a neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous.