Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Brooklyn Tuesday night, marching in response to a police shooting in Philadelphia that left a Black man dead following a domestic dispute call earlier this week.
Nearly 40 commercial properties and nine NYPD vehicles damaged by vandals over the course of the night, NYPD officials said, with the damage including broken store windows and small fires set. Five department members suffered minor injuries, mostly while effecting arrests during the protests. Police said that 32 people were arrested and five sumonses were issued throughout the evening. The most serious charges included assaulting a police officer, obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct and graffiti-related activities.
One NYPD spokesperson said a car attempted to drive through a group of cops at one point, causing some minor injuries. Several videos posted on social media show the driver clearly telling officers "I'm just trying to go home" before officers let the driver close the door and drive away. Seconds later, officers used batons to smash the car's windows and that's when the driver drove through them.
Police say the driver got away. It's unclear if the driver was actually involved in the protests or was just passing through.
The unrest in the city stemmed from the shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. in West Philadelphia on Monday. Police responded to a call about an armed man during a domestic dispute, and officers could be heard on video telling Wallace to put the knife down before they opened fire.
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Wallace's family said they told officers the 27-year-old had a history of mental health problems and did not have to shoot.
The National Guard was called into Philadelphia as protests, some peaceful while others led to looting and damaging buildings, continued Tuesday night. Protesters there marched to the police headquarters of one district, and later in the night some of the demonstrators threw rocks, water bottles and other items at responding police officers.
Along with the protest, more looting occurred as helicopter footage showed looters targeting a Footlocker, Walmart and other nearby stores in the city's Port Richmond neighborhood.
Early in the evening, Gov. Tom Wolf's office confirmed that the Pennsylvania National Guard would be mobilizing to head to Philadelphia, where they would help protect local property and supplement the city's police, a Guard spokesman told the local NBC affiliate.
