4 St. Louis police officers shot at George Floyd protests
Quote:
Authorities in St. Louis said early Tuesday that four police officers were shot during protests in the city’s downtown area and officers continue to be under fire.
St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden told reporters that two officers were shot in the leg and one was shot in the foot. The other was shot in the arm. Hayden said they were hit by gunfire while standing on the side of a police line amid protests in the city.
As we speak we're trying to get control out of this city, still hearing gunfire and everything. I don't know what else to say. This is horrible," he said. "Thank God, they're alive."
Hayden added that he believes "some coward randomly shot at the police line."
Besides the shooting in St. Louis, there were reports of police being shot in Richmond Va. and Las Vegas. Their conditions were not immediately clear.
Unconfirmed video on Twitter showed chaos in the downtown area as police vehicles and cars were seen traveling throughout the smoke and fire filled streets. Dozens of shots could be heard.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that all of the officers were conscious and breathing after being rushed to the hospital.
Around 12:25 a.m. local time, “heavy gunfire” could be heard “coming from several directions downtown," according to the paper.
Fox 2 Now reported that earlier in the day, crowds formed outside the St. Louis Police headquarters in the city, and police set up defensive lines around the perimeter. The relative calm in the city during the day gave way to violence in the city that included a 7-Eleven being looted and set on fire.
Sometime later, Hayden said a group of 200 or so had no intention of protesting when they started throwing rocks and fireworks at officers.
Hayden said the rioters were hyping up the crowd and high fiving each other. He said they started throwing things at officers and then looting all over downtown.
“Officers exhibited extraordinary restraint,” Hayden said.
He added that officers only took measures to combat the crowd after things became violent outside of police headquarters. Police in riot gear threw tear gas at the crowd and started moving in lines to break up the rioters, according to St. Louis' KSDK.
"We had to protect our headquarters building, they were throwing fireworks on officers, fireworks were exploding on officers, they had officers that had gas poured on them....Mr. [George] Floyd was killed somewhere else and they're tearing up cities all across the country," Hayden said.
The report said that downtown businesses and construction sites were also set on fire.
NYPD cop struck by hit-and-run driver in the BronxQuote:
An NYPD officer was struck by a hit-and-run driver in the Bronx early Tuesday, law enforcement sources said.
The officer was mowed down at the intersection of East 170th Street and Walton Avenue in Mt. Eden by the driver of a dark sedan, according to dramatic footage of the incident.
The officer was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was expected to survive, sources said.
The recording of the hit-and-run, which was posted to Twitter, shows the cop get launched into the air and hit another vehicle after being struck.
“That’s a f—ing cop,” a woman recording the footage says after impact. “Oh s–t!”
The officer lands in the middle of the intersection and several other people, presumably officers, rush over.
An NYPD van with its sirens flashing pulls up and the injured officer is escorted into the vehicle.
“Oh my God, oh my God!” witnesses can be heard saying.
Seconds later, three more police vehicles show up and the van carrying the victim drives off.
The witness later tweeted that there were helicopters in the area “chasing that car down.”
The NYPD did not immediately have additional information on the incident.
Video shows NYPD cop being attacked by several men in the BronxQuote:
An NYPD officer was attacked by several men in the Bronx Monday night as onlookers recording the struggle egged on the suspects.
The footage, which was tweeted by the city’s Sergeants Benevolent Association, shows two men forcefully toss an unknown object at an officer who’s on the ground struggling with somebody else.
After the second man attacks, the man tussling with the cop runs free, the video shows.
The officer, appearing dazed, gets up after the group flees and immediately draws his gun, but doesn’t appear to point it toward anyone in particular, according to the video.
Enlarge ImageA video shows two men attacking a police officer in the Bronx.
A video shows two men attacking a police officer in the Bronx.Twitter/@SBANYPD
During the attack, a man in the recording can be heard repeatedly yelling “F–k 12” — an anti-cop slang reference.
The incident occurred as police on Monday night struggled to contain roving gangs of young looters in Manhattan.
Amid the mayhem, another officer was injured on Madison Avenue, according to footage posted to Twitter by Fox News correspondent Bryan Llenas.
The video showed an officer sprawled face-down on the sidewalk as another cops comes to his side with a bottle of water.
Along with posting the video, the SBA wrote of the officer involved, “I guess the critics will now say he overreacted. NYPD Cops defend yourselves, you are alone!”
The comment is a reference to a Sunday night video that showed an NYPD cop pulling a gun on protesters.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday morning said that officer should be stripped of his gun and badge over the threat of deadly force.
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