Padma Lakshmi slams NYPD for attacking BLM protesters, says 'this is unacceptable'

As a video of New York Police Department members surrounding and attacking Black Lives Matters protesters at Washington Square Park surfaced online, ‘Bravo’s ‘Top Chef’ host Padma Lakshmi slammed the cops and called the incident ‘unacceptable’. While taking to Twitter, Lakshmi shared the clip of the incident and wrote that the NYPD ‘charged and attacked peaceful protesters and pedestrians’ on September 27. She even asked ‘Who is this protecting?’. 

The video of the arrests showed NYPD officers rushing the protesters standing on the sidewalk area of the road amid pedestrians. According to NBC New York, the cops rushed protesters near Hudson Street and W 10th Street after raiding an art protest in nearby Washington Square Park. While speaking to the media outlet, a police spokesperson confirmed ‘multiple’ arrests, however, a demonstrator at the scene reportedly said that number was likely in the ‘dozens’. 

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Netizens condemn police brutality 

Ever since the video went viral, internet users took to various social media platforms and slammed NYPD cops for using their ‘vicious weapons’ and ‘body armour’ on ‘innocents’. While one internet user called the incident ‘deeply disturbing,’ another added, “NYPD attacked and arrested protesters and even random people in front of diners eating outside in the West Village”. “All PDs have been infiltrated by White supremacists. Not surprised. #DefundThePolice," added third. 

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Meanwhile, the United States has been witnessing anti-racism protests for the past couple of months, particularly after the killing of an African-American man George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. Floyd was killed by a white police officer named Derek Chauvin after the latter pinned him down on the ground with his knee and remained in the position for about eight minutes. After the video of the incident went viral, people took to the streets to demand racial equality and reforms in policing.  

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