Suspect in Custody in Brooklyn Bridge Attack on Cops: NYPD

One of the seven suspects seen on a YouTube clip allegedly attacking two NYPD officers during Saturday night's Millions March demonstrations on the Brooklyn Bridge is in custody, police said.

Robert Murray, 43, turned himself in to police along with his attorney Thursday morning, according to Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. The Crown Heights resident faces charges of riot, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and escaping custody. 

Murray, described as an organizer for a building service workers union who participates in rallies, was the man in a hooded sweatshirt seen in the video punching police Lt. Philip Chan, according to Bratton. Chan sustained a broken nose. 

"His acts were violent. They are right up there with being some of the most violent acts that I've seen," Bratton told reporters Thursday. 

Police announced earlier this week they were looking for suspects in the attack on NYPD Lts. Philip Chan and Patrick Sullivan late Saturday. A  reward posted for information leading to the attackers' arrests has been increased to $25,000. 

Bratton said the case has "progressed very nicely," and that the public has been contacting police with information and video. 

Chan and Sullivan were shoved and punched by angry protesters as they tried to arrest 29-year-old CUNY adjunct professor Eric Linsker, who was allegedly caught throwing heavy metal trash binsover a bridge railing and onto a lower roadway. 

Linsker was able to escape as the attackers swarmed the officers, but was later arrested on several charges.
 
Bratton described Murray in the video capturing the altercation: "He thinks at one point Eric has gotten away. When they realized Eric was still there, they come back and pull him down. When they pull him down... you will see him strike Lt. Chan in the face. When Chan was trying to apprehend, he punches him again." 

Chan and Sullivan were in plain clothes but had on clearly marked gray jackets that identified them as police, according to NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton. They were at the march representing NYPD's Legal Bureau, which ensures the rights of the protesters are protected.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out for the march on Saturday. It followed a grand jury's decision not to indict a police officer in the apparent chokehold death of Eric Garner.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
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