New York City

Another Man Arrested in Connection With Water Dumpings on NYPD Officers Over Summer

What to Know

  • There has been another arrest in this summer’s spate of caught-on-video water dousing of New York City police officers
  • Darnell Hillard was arrested Monday on charges including assault, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, riot and more
  • Police say Hillard was involved in a July 21 incident in which video showed officers getting drenched by buckets of thrown water in Harlem

There has been another arrest in this summer’s spate of caught-on-video water dousing of New York City police officers.

Police say 21-year-old Darnell Hillard was arrested Monday on charges of assault, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, riot, disorderly conduct and harassment. Information on his lawyer wasn’t immediately available.

Police say Hillard was involved in a July 21 incident in which video showed officers getting drenched by buckets of thrown water while making an arrest in Harlem. One officer was hit in the head with a tossed bucket.

Several others have been arrested in the drenching of two police officers by a crowd with buckets of water in the Bronx and the dousing of two police officers in Brooklyn.

Those charged include Courtney Thompson, Isiah Scott and Chad Bowden, all 28. They face varying charges including disorderly conduct, harassment, criminal mischief and obstructing government administration, among other offenses.

Two of the suspects were arrested for allegedly throwing water at a woman and ruining her phone as a result, police said. They were seen in the video of the Harlem incident, but did not take part in chucking water on the officer or throwing the bucket, according to police. The other man arrested was directly involved in dousing an officer.

The videos surfaced over the summer and sparked debate on whether the behavior was simply a prank on a hot day, or a display of anti-police sentiment. One of the videos shows officers making an arrest in Harlem, with the suspect in custody on the back of a police cruiser. Onlookers were tossing buckets of water on the cops, and at one point threw one of the buckets at an officer's head.

Another video showed two NYPD cops, already soaking wet, walking away and getting covered with another bucket of water, as people seen on the video watched with shocked expressions on their faces.

In an internal NYPD memo obtained by News 4 over the summer,  the department said, "Police officers are not expected to tolerate conduct that may cause risk of injury to themselves and the public, interferes with the performance of their duties or tampers with or damages their uniform, equipment or other department property."

The memo outlined a number of possible violations for which cops could ticket offenders, including disorderly conduct, harassment and obstructing governmental administration. 

People on social media at the time praised the officers for continuing to do their jobs and just walking away, but local officials said the behavior was unacceptable.

People on social media were equally appalled by the behavior but some say that it was just water. However, the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York blamed the incidents on anti-police sentiment and rhetoric that have been "streaming out of City Hall and Albany for years."

"As police officers, we need to draw a line. In situations like this, we need to take action to protect ourselves and the public," the union said in a statement.

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