Video: Violent NYPD Response To Crowds Outside LES Nightclub
A high density of bars and nightclubs combined with manic out-of-town revelers and wary locals gives the Lower East Side an electricity all its own. It also provokes scenes like the one late last night at the intersection of Rivington and Orchard around midnight. Nightclub Tammany Hall was hosting an album release party for rap group Smif N Wessun.
By the accounts of the witnesses in the video below, as well as those we talked to on the street, the event itself was packed, but not violent. Representatives from Tammany Hall could not confirm whether or not the police ordered the event to be shut down, but hundreds of people spilled out onto the street, and at 2:48 in the video you can see a police officer repeatedly baton a man who is shouting "What are you touching me for?" despite a woman's efforts to separate the two.
On Twitter, @DJWayneSki said "Orchard St... Tammny Hall. They beat regular people up..women.. Didn't matter," while @iamcurvel noted "L.E.S Orchard St- Tammany hall, Smif n Wessun & Pete Rock event, got shut down! 20 cop cars, and ambulance."
After we received a tip of a "mob" in the area, we arrived at the scene around 12:30 a.m. to see about 50 people milling about, with at least six squad cars and an ambulance. A man who was bleeding through the gauze around his head was handcuffed and being led into the ambulance, while the police officer who wielded his baton in the video was explaining to his superior what happened, saying that he was scratched but not seriously injured. Indeed there were no signs of serious injury to the officer, and after the ambulance left, the remaining crowd dispersed.
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I'm promoting a show next month with Rap duo "Illegal Gunz good for Killin Innozent Byztanderz", hope there's no violence and that the cops don't hurt any of us nice Rap fans.
WetButt
These liberal idiots like Chris Robbins with their faux outrage at this video are laughable. These savages on the street would have happily beaten you to a pulp and taken your wallet and phone for good measure you dope GET A CLUE
NikhilChaundry
Why didnt the crowd stop the pig from what looks like beating someone to death!? Next time everyone should have their cameras out...
Excellent job by the NYPD, I heard cops say "move on, get off the block" at least 10 times, instead these savages want to yell sh*t back at the police and continue piling like a bunch of animals. Got your ass kicked by the police? Good, next time learn how to listen and stop being a show off in front of your friends by getting in the officer's face. I love how people like to criticize the police but when a party gets out of hand and people get shot because its "cool" to shoot a fellow rapper musician, the next day every one asks why wasn't the police there to protect them and stop the violence.
Guest
I am thrilled beyond words that the video exonerates the cops once both sides of the story were known and that Gothamist helped the police by making available the evidence to jail the wrongdoers. I'm going to call around to see if you can get some sort of good citizenship award or something.
Wow that was some compelling stuff, now back to your regularly scheduled Gothamist line-up: bike, bike, accident, police brutality, neo-gastropub in LES.
TheRealCannibal
My friend put this show together. It was the first event that he's done in five years. He said after this he's done. He and his girl got maced.
Guest
Turns out 5 cops went to the hospital after being assaulted by these lowlives. The one animal at that you clearly see punch the cop in the face? He refused to leave the concert hall that was over-capacity and when the cops went to cuff him, he punched him in the face, breaking his tooth. The force you see being used is 100% appropriate.
At the end of the day, that shrill little limey's video not only exonerated the cops, she made sure her pal is going to jail by making sure evidence of his crime was plastered all over the internet. Good job, shrill limey! Good job, Gothamist! The police thank you!
At 2:45 you see and hear a woman attack a cop - "get out of my f*cking face", big surprise, you get hit.
"all of NYPD on the block" - There's 30,000+ cops here in NYC, you idiot limey promoter of cRap music. You bring a band with a parody of a gun name and then cry when your guy Steels gets more free publicity than you could ever buy.Go back to to London where you have helped destroy a great city. We don't want you here.
And to the DB up above bragging about his glock. Enjoy your return visit to Rikers, thug.
edgie168
ohh you're so scary i could cry myself to laughter!
*** INTERNET TOUGH GUY ALERT ***
petey2
lesson 1: when the police tell you to leave, leave.
lesson 2: when you put your hands on the police, especially in a potential riiot situation, don't be surprised when you get ht and arrested.
both times people got hit they had their hands on the police prior to being hit, and it was clear that people were told to clear the block.
DavidLES
People were leaving calmly and quietly. The cops provoked this whole thing. The rest of the video tape will confirm what I saw and I was there. Don't be so quick to judge, petey2, this time you're 100% wrong. I saw it with my own eyes. The cop in charge at the scene needs training or to be relieved of his command. He showed terrible judgment and a total lack of patience, experience.
I see a whole lot of things in this video: huge mob of people, heckling, a policeman getting this shit kicked out of him, a few batons being thrown, some big talk.
What I don't see are people leaving in an orderly manner. I see people hanging around to see what happens next.
fedupnewyorker
I guess that no one gives a shit that 12 thugs from the party started the whole thing by trying to beat up the security staff at the club before the cops were called. And when the cops arrived a partygoer threw the first punch and hit a cop in the face breaking his front tooth. Still does not excuse the Police brutality that followed but the environment at events like these should be addressed.
Finally someone else that saw what ignited the whole bad situation. Thanks fedupnewyorker. It was a good night for Hip Hop until a group of people trying to get in grabbed a security guy, later punched another and then started throwing things at security and the venue. Security didn’t let anyone back in that was outside or anyone waiting to get in at this point. This prompted the police being called, the people that started that fight had already fled and the show was shut down about 20 minutes later. Which later led to the events with the police in all the videos posted. If that didn’t happen it would have been another good show to the end, like the Random Axe, Black Moon and Skyzoo show in Brooklyn I went to the week before. Sad how this was ignited and not many know. The police blew this way out of proportion with their presence and injured many for what? Yeah they (police) did tell the crowd to disperse plenty of times and alcohol and police never mix, but not every show ends up like this yet they always want to present the negativity.
Guest
"The police blew this way out of proportion with their presence and injured many for what? "
You understand 5 cops were injured, including a broken nose and a another with a broken tooth, right? You watched the video and saw that the police responded with appropriate force after people in the CLEARLY hostile crowd put their hands on them, right?
UrbaneLegend
ONLY NOW YOU GET WHAT NYPD IS ALL ABOUT? FORGET THE BS YOU SEE ON LAW AND ORDER.
WHERE ELSE CAN YOU STOP AND FRISK ONE MILLION BLACK MEN PER YEAR AND IT'S NOT A CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION? ONLY IN BLOOMIE LAND.
THE POLICE COMMISSIONER SHOULD BE HORSEWHIPPED. OF COURSE, IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY, COPS WILL STILL WHIP YOUR ASSES. SORRY.
pendejito
I was at that show, what a fucking suasage fest. I stood around for hours in what smelled like a sweaty locker room, waiting for Smif n Wessun to come on, but got to see a bunch of dudes laughing, posing for picutres, and trying to dance on stage with matching t-shirts instead. Once it became a chore to get a beer, I left. Good riddance I missed the shitshow after!
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