(CNN) -
The New York Police Department (NYPD) planned the assault and mass arrest of nearly 300 protesters in a Bronx neighborhood in June using a tactic known as "kettling," he said. Human Rights Watch in a lengthy report released Wednesday.
The 99-page report and an accompanying 12-minute video take a closer look at the actions of the NYPD on the night of June 4 as protesters marched in Mott Haven in the Bronx.
The report and video are based on interviews or written accounts of 81 people who participated in the protest, interviews with 19 others and analyzes of 155 videos, the non-profit human rights organization said.
That night, the New York police surrounded and locked the protesters in a confined space, a tactic known as "kettling."
Generally, after surrounding protesters, the police will ask them to disperse or be arrested.
But in this case, the NYPD did not allow the protesters to leave the area, HRW noted.
The crowd control tactic has been used by police during protests in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Chantel Johnson, one of the protesters in Mott Haven that day, told HRW that agents caught her - in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic - and then moved to make mass arrests.
The officers attacked the protesters with batons;
a blow split his lip.
“He kept saying, 'I want to go home, I live in the neighborhood, I'm an educator, I've been trying to go home since 7:30.'
I kept repeating that over and over, like 100 times, "he explained.
Finally, a police supervisor grabbed her and pulled her out of the crowd.
Another officer led her to the edge of the protest, pushed her and told her to go home, she told HRW.
Based on other similar accounts, HRW concluded that the New York Police Department carried out serious human rights violations, including excessive use of force, violations of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and cruel and degrading treatment of detainees.
The NYPD released a statement in response to the allegations in the report.
"We make a strong exception to the subjective characterization of our law enforcement actions to maintain law and order as 'a planned assault,'" said Sgt. Jessica McRorie.
HRW is a non-profit human rights organization that investigates and reports on rights abuses, including those in China, Syria, the Philippines and the United States.
The Mott Haven crackdown
Protesters march in the South Bronx to protest George Floyd's death on June 4, 2020.
The Mott Haven march was part of the national Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd's death at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In the days leading up to June 4, some protests escalated into riots and looting, and the New York Police Department instituted and enforced an 8 p.m. curfew checkpoint to try to prevent destruction.
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Approximately 10 minutes before curfew, protesters in Mott Haven reached a group of police officers wearing riot gear, helmets, shields, and batons.
The bicycle police used their bicycles to form a wall and block the path of the protesters.
At the same time, other officers pushed from behind the protesters, surrounding them and preventing them from leaving, HRW said.
New York police arrest protesters for breaking the city-wide curfew on June 4.
Just after 8 pm, the police entered, "without provocation and without warning, using their batons, hitting people from the tops of cars, pushing them to the ground and firing pepper spray in their faces," the organization said. non profit.
Clearly identified doctors and legal observers were among the targets of the crackdown, according to HRW.
NYPD officers make arrests at the June 4 protest in the Bronx.
Police arrested and incarcerated at least 263 people that night, according to the report.
Most were charged with misdemeanors for curfew violations or illegal assembly.
NYPD's Office investigates NYPD
The following day, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea acknowledged that the arrests were planned in advance and accused the protesters of encouraging violence.
"In terms of what happened in Mott Haven, this is something the NYPD saw coming, an organization that literally fomented violence," de Blasio said.
"We had a plan that went pretty smoothly in the Bronx," Shea said.
"Again, this was not about protests, it was about bringing down society."
Human Rights Watch said it found no evidence that protesters used violence.
The organization notes that the financial costs of police resources, as well as the many civil lawsuits that have been filed since then, could cost taxpayers several million dollars.
The NYPD's response to the Mott Haven protest and its "cornering" tactics figure heavily in the NYPD's investigation into NYPD interactions with protesters.
The prosecutor's office held a three-day public hearing on the issue and released a preliminary report on July 8.
The report said the crowd-control tactic "often led to violent clashes between the NYPD and protesters."
At a hearing, Shea testified that she had never heard of the term "kettling" until after the protests began, but said its use might be appropriate in certain cases, according to the New York City Attorney's Office.
It did not specifically say whether the "corral" described by the witnesses at the hearing was appropriate or justified, the prosecutor's office detailed in its report.
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