NYPD converged on BLM organizer, Derrick Ingram’s, apartment Friday with helicopters hovering above, dogs waiting in the hallway, and officers pounding on his door. Dozens of officers, some in tactical gear and carrying shields, also closed the street out front of his apartment. However, they did not have warrant for Ingram’s arrest and retreated when peaceful protests showed up to protest the police’s actions. Ingram had broadcasted the entire event live from his residence.
“What did I do? What did I do?” he said on a livestream posted on Instagram. “I was born Black, that’s what I did.”
The warrantless officers came to arrest Ingram for allegedly assaulting a fellow officer by yelling in her ear with a bullhorn during a previous protest. Accompanied by his lawyer on Saturday, Ingram turned himself in and was charged with second-degree assault, a charge in connection with an incident during a protest in Midtown Manhattan on June 14
During his arraignment hearing, the ADA asked the court to reduce charges against Ingram to misdemeanor assault and that the court release him without bail. The judge agreed and Mr. Ingram was released.
“Our office does not condone the extraordinary tactics employed by police on Friday,” said Danny Frost, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. “These actions were disproportionate to the alleged offense that occurred two months ago, and unjustifiably escalated conflict between law enforcement and the communities we serve.”
All this comes approximately 10 days after the arrest of a transgender woman, Nikki Stone, 18, who was taken away from a protest in an unmarked van in a move that drew criticism from Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
