The New York City protests against the Ferguson grand jury decision drew thousands of people into the streets, shut down the Triboro, Manhattan, and Brooklyn bridges, and produced an image that will be trotted out by NYPD critics for years to come: a grimacing Bill Bratton splattered with what looks like blood.
The New York Daily News reports that Diego Ibanez, a 26-year-old Occupy Wall Street and immigrant-rights activist, was the person responsible for tossing bright red paint onto the police chief and at least one other cop as they surveyed the demonstration in Times Square last night. Ibanez was quickly arrested and charged with obstruction of government administration, disorderly conduct, harassment, criminal mischief, and assault on a police officer.
Here’s a video of Ibanez being taken into custody, with Bratton pulling out a tissue to wipe himself off at the end:
After Ibanez was taken away, another demonstrator used the paint to write Mike Brown’s name on the sidewalk:
