Police apprehended a suspect who allegedly unleashed bear spray inside a jam-packed Washington Square Park on Sunday night during Pride celebrations, leaving 50 people — including 12 cops — injured.
According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, about 1,000 people had squeezed themselves into the Greenwich Village greenspace at around 8:30 p.m. on June 29 when a fight erupted and chaos unfolded.
Sources familiar with the incident report that 23-year-old Dominik Sabater of Harlem told police that he believed he was about to be attacked when he pulled out bear repellent and fired the substance, causing a human stampede.
Sabater then allegedly attempted to hide the bear repellent in his waistband while fleeing, but the canister continued to spew the substance, infecting more people, including cops stationed in the area as he rushed by. A community affairs officer was able to take Sabator into custody.
“At some point, officers are made aware of a disturbance. It appears like a fight is going on. Officers rush to the scene, and they are immediately hit with an orange substance that causes them irritation to their eyes, and some of them actually couldn’t breathe,” Chief Kenny said.
Meanwhile, parkgoers were left screaming and running, with EMS washing their eyes out. One cop told amNewYork that the sensation was one of the worst he has ever felt and was left vomiting in the back of an ambulance. Another officer said he had experienced pepper spray, but the sensation of this substance felt much more severe.
“This resulted in 12 officers being removed to the hospital where they were treated for various injuries to their eyes, their throats, their lungs, difficulty breathing,” Kenny said.
The NYPD immediately evacuated the park and cordoned off the surrounding streets. Piles of trash could be seen left scattered across the ground.
Possessing bear spray is illegal in New York City.
Sabater was charged with assault, reckless endangerment, menacing, criminal possession of weapon, obstructing government administration, and possessing noxious material.
