Protesters Attack Man Walking His Dog On The UWS: Police

Upper West Side NY

26 October, 2020

10:10 AM

Description

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A man walking his dog near Central Park was attacked by a group of protesters Saturday, police said. Cops released photos of two men they want to speak to about the attack. The protesters surrounded the 40-year-old man near West 67th Street and Central Park West at 3:20 p.m., police said. They began talking and someone in the group punched the man in the head and pushed him to the ground, according to police. While the man lay on the pavement, two other men in the group punched and stomped on the victim, police said. Yet another person in the protest group tried unsuccessfully to take the man's cell phone out of his hands, according to police. The group then walked off and continued with their protest, police said. It is not clear what the group was protesting. NYC Protest Coverage, an Instagram page that documents protests in New York City, reached out to Patch about the incident saying the organization had a photographer at the protest on Saturday who saw parts of what happened. According to the photographer, the man who got attacked had been yelling statements through a cone like "say no to Afro supremacy." A biker then rode past the man and tried to grab the cone out of the man's hand, but missed and the 40-year-old threw the cone at the biker, according to the photographer. The action prompted protesters to come over and confront the 40-year-old, according to the eyewitness. The man threatened the approaching protesters with a stick and an altercation ensued, according to the photographer at the scene. Both the victim and his dog suffered minor injuries in the attack but the man refused medical attention, according to police. Police released photos Monday of two of the men they wanted to speak to in connection with the incident. Photo courtesy of the New York Police Department. Photo courtesy of the New York Police Department. NYC Protest Coverage also told Patch that the men in the released photos weren't actually part of the attack and robbery attempt. The group's witness said the man with the red mask was trying to help the dog that the 40-year-old man had with him as he was being wrestled to the ground. Additionally, the photographer reported that the 40-year-old man broke his stick across the back of the man pictured in the second photo and that he wasn't part of the group that tackled him to the ground.