Police Commissioner Bill Bratton was spattered with what appeared to be red paint Monday as protesters flooded Times Square to protest a Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict the police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown earlier this year.
Bratton and several other officers were in Times Square when one protester allegedly tossed the liquid their way, an NYPD spokesman said. The substance, which witnesses called fake blood, hit Bratton in the face and stained his suit. It appeared to have hit at least one other police officer.
No one was injured.
Video captured in the aftermath shows several other officers crowding over the protester on the sidewalk.
Police arrested 26-year-old Diego Ibanez at the scene. He is charged with obstructing governmental administration, harassment and reckless endangerment. Police say he could face additional charges.
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After the sidewalk cleared, one protester used the paint to write out the words “Mike Brown” on the sidewalk.
Bratton took the Monday night incident in stride, joking that the substance was "vegetable-based" and that he hoped it would come out of the suit he wore.
The paint tossing resulted in the only arrest reported during the protests in New York City following the announcement of the grand jury’s decision not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in Brown’s death.
More than 1,000 protesters marched throughout the city, with groups temporarily shutting down the Brooklyn and Robert F. Kennedy bridges.
Bratton said the police department was giving protesters "breathing room" to express outrage over Monday's grand jury decision in the shooting death of Michael Brown.
"As long as they remain nonviolent, and as long as they don't engage in issues that cause fear or create vandalism, we will work with them to allow them to demonstrate," he said.
