New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said on Friday morning on Good Afternoon New York that video of the incident shows a black car driving into a crowd of protesters shortly after 8:00 pm in midtown Manhattan.
He estimated that at least 200 people took part in the demonstration.
A video from the scene on Twitter showed that the car, which appears to have a pushing bumper, stopped briefly and then dispersed among the protesters and cyclists who were on the street at the time. The vehicle’s license plate is visible in the videos of the incident. Then a small group chased after him as he darted away.
It is unclear what happened before the video was recorded, but Shea said “Good afternoon”, at least one cyclist blocked the movement of the car and two others hit the car window.
NYPD confirmed it was a black Ford Taurus sedan similar to the model used by the police department.
Shea said the police have a lot of information about the incident and the car. NYPD says the car is not affiliated with the department. Some protesters speculated on social media that it was an undercover police car.
There were no reports of injuries and officials hope to speak to the protesters, as well as the driver and passenger (s) in the car, Shi said. NYPD urged anyone who might be injured to come forward. There were no complaints about the incident.
The New York City Fire Department told CNN that it had not received any calls regarding the incident.
