New York Police Department is gearing up for the possibility that thousands of pro-Palestine protesters will be demonstrating nearby, Mayor Eric Adams and police officials said Friday.
In an afternoon security briefing outside the NYPD’s Times Square substation, Adams said the Police Department is still on high alert, citing an incident at last year’s Times Square ball drop event where a Maine teenager allegedly attacked three NYPD officers with a machete.
John Hart, an assistant NYPD chief in charge of the department’s intelligence division, noted that other pro-Palestine protests in the city over the past couple months have drawn between 1,000 and 5,000 people.“We’re prepared for them in any number,” Hart said of expected demonstrations at Sunday’s celebration. “We’re prepared for different groups from different places, and we will make sure this event stays safe.”
On Christmas Day, six pro-Palestine protesters were arrested near the Rockefeller Center, which is blocks from Times Square, amid clashes with cops.
In anticipation of Times Square protests on Sunday, Assistant NYPD Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said the department will use “the same blueprint” it did when pro-Palestine demonstrators tried to interrupt the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting last month.
“We’re going to have tow trucks strategically parked along the actual New Year’s Eve festivities, and we’re going to have drones deployed around the outer perimeter so we can monitor the protests, potential protests that are coming in real time,” said Daughtry.
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