A senior NYPD officer was seen accidentally pepper-spraying himself while attempting to cope with an anti-Israel protest on the Manhattan Bridge on Saturday, May 11. A viral video on social media shows NYPD Assistant Chief James McCarthy spraying the chemical irritant on his face while attempting to use it on protesters. The protesters marched across the bridge, causing traffic to stop.
NYPD Assistant Chief James McCarthy sprays the chemical irritant on his face while attempting to use it on protester
The video shows protesters yelling ‘Rafah!’ as they fall over one another in the mayhem. Police in riot gear are seen attempting to wrangle them.
Some of the protesters are seen carrying placards that read, ‘Palestine will be free.’ McCarthy is seen with three protesters near the end of the video. He takes pepper spray from his pocket and accidentally sprays himself. According to reports, other officers later poured a bottle of water over his face.
Several other videos doing the rounds on social media captured moments from the protest. One clip shows the demonstrators marching, as the caption says, “As protesters—marching with their arms linked together—approached the Manhattan side of the Manhattan Bridge, a group of officers headed towards them in preparation for mass arrests. This is the last video I took before being cuffed.”