NYPD: Arrests made during protest seeking free transit, ban on cops in subways – By Matthew Chayes (Newsday) / Feb 1 2020
Protesters were arrested throughout Friday on a day of threatened disruption and sabotage of the New York City transit system — a demonstration calling for free transit for everyone and the banning of police from the subway system.
Sgt. Mary Frances O’Donnell, a spokeswoman for the NYPD, said Friday evening that the arrests were not confined to one time or location, and that the department would put out a summary, which would include the number of arrests, once the protests had ended.
“NYPD: Keep Your [expletive] Hands Off Black Kids,” “Cops out of … schools and subways” and “Transit is a right” were among the signs carried into Grand Central Terminal during the evening rush hour and held aloft by picketers who surrounded the terminals iconic clock, according to posted photos on social media. Nearby, police officers appeared to be confronting some of the protesters.
Some of the picketers wore masks, according to the posts; it’s illegal to congregate in public in New York State while masked.
Other posts on social media show graffitied buses and subways, sabotaged fare-collection devices like turnstiles and other vandalism.
There were also protests Friday in Brooklyn, where picketers crammed into subway cars and onto platforms — and the police tried to follow and blocked stations where the disruptions were most common.
Continue to article: https://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/subway-protest-new-york-city-transit-1.41287209
