Police make 5th arrest in Brooklyn Bridge melee that injured officer

Police in New York City announced Sunday the arrest of a fifth person in a melee that left an officer with a broken nose as fallout continued over the slayings of two officers by a gunman who had posted online rants against police.

The latest arrest stemmed from a Dec. 13 incident on the Brooklyn Bridge as protesters demonstrated against the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of law enforcement. Police say they still are searching for several people caught on video trying to prevent two policemen from arresting a man accused of attempting to throw a trash container over a railing and onto traffic on the bridge.

Just as the marchers invoked the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, unarmed black men who died during encounters with police, the gunman Saturday, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, stated in online posts that he planned to avenge the deaths of Garner and Brown.

In the Brooklyn neighborhood where police say Brinsley, 28, ambushed officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos on Saturday afternoon, the shock over the brazen killing was palpable a day later. A memorial to the slain officers grew on the sidewalk next to where they were shot while sitting in their patrol car, and community leaders called for a candlelight vigil in the evening.

“This was a madman who carried out this crime,” said Isaac Mickens, a local clergyman. “This was wrong.”

“100% wrong,” added Jimmy Hicks, who lives in the neighborhood.

Both men are black, but they and others gathered at the corner, in front of the flowers, candles, Christmas wreath and menorah, said race and politics should not enter into the discussion over the shootings.

“Blood is on the hands of one individual, a sick mind who did a sick act,” said Brooklyn borough President Eric Adams. He was alluding to statements Saturday night by police union leaders who said blood was on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s hands for not cracking down on protesters who have held nearly nightly marches in the city since Garner’s death in July.

Brinsley, whose last known residence according to police was in Georgia, shot himself to death in a subway station after killing Liu and Ramos.

The latest arrest in the Dec. 13 melee was of a 29-year-old woman. Another woman and three men also have been arrested on charges that include assault, rioting and resisting arrest.

Los Angeles Times