Outrage after NYPD hustles protester into unmarked van
The New York Police Department’s use of plainclothes officers and an unmarked minivan to haul away a vandalism suspect during a protest Tuesday created confusion and drew outrage from people who compared it to covert tactics used recently by federal agents in Portland, Oregon.
Bystander videos of 18-year-old Nikki Stone’s arrest spread quickly on social media, along with comments such as “nypd is out here KIDNAPPING protesters off of the street.” Another tweet compared the police to an African terrorist group, saying: “When Boko Haram does this there is international outrage. NYPD, it’s just business as usual.”
Acknowledging the video, the NYPD issued a statement Tuesday night explaining that Stone was picked up by a police warrant squad for allegedly damaging several surveillance cameras near City Hall, where activists camped out for a month before riot police forced them out last week. On Wednesday, the department posted video it said showed Stone vandalizing cameras with paint and a broom stick.