Story highlights
New York police arrests five of six people sought in alleged assault on lieutenants
Assaults occurred on the Brooklyn Bridge during nationwide anti-police protests
The two police lieutenants were treated for their injuries at a local hospital
Three more anti-police protesters being sought for allegedly assaulting a pair of New York officers on the Brooklyn Bridge have been arrested, police said Saturday.
The assaults occurred one week ago when tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in major cities, including New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco and Oakland, California.
In New York, two police lieutenants were monitoring a large crowd on the Brooklyn Bridge when a man attempted to hurl a garbage can on roadway, police said. The man “violently resisted” when the officers tried to take him into custody, with other demonstrators punching and kicking the lieutenants. The protesters also tried taking the officers’ police radios and NYPD jackets.
The officers were treated for their injuries at a local hospital, police said.
The protests started after a New York grand jury declined to indict a police officer in the July death of Eric Garner, who died after the Staten Island officer wrapped his arm around Garner’s neck and wrestled him to the ground.
Zachary Campbell, 32, was arrested Saturday and charged with riot, resisting arrest, obstructing government administration, said police spokeswoman Sophia Mason.
Another protester, Maria Garcia, 36, a Brooklyn resident, was arrested Friday on charges of riot, resisting arrest and obstruction of government administration, according to Mason.
Jonathan Oberman, the lawyer for Garcia, told CNN affiliate WABC that Garcia was not on the bridge at the time and that police misidentified her because she is the wife of a suspect.
In an email to CNN, Oberman said, “… our investigation into the allegations, which commenced last night, had enabled us to speak to a number of people who challenged the prosecutor’s claim that the woman pictured in the video – relied on by the police and prosecutor as the basis of the arrest – was Ms. Garcia.”
A third suspect, Robert Murray, 43, also of Brooklyn, turned himself in Thursday and was charged with two counts of assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, inciting riot and obstruction of government administration, Mason said.
It’s unclear whether Campbell and Murray have lawyers.
A fourth suspect, Eric Linsker, 29, who police said allegedly initiated the incident, was arrested last Saturday on charges of robbery, assaulting a police officer, riot, obstruction of governmental administration, reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of marijuana.
CNN’s Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.