Black Lives Matter founder Hawk Newsome and several eyewitnesses alleged that a plainclothed officer in the Bronx had threatened to kill the activist outside a Bronx court on Wednesday afternoon.
The incident took place outside of the trial of Sergeant Erik Duran, who himself was accused of throwing a cooler at a fleeing suspect in 2023. The victim, Eric Duprey, died, and the case prompted a round of protests demanding that Duran be prosecuted.
Newsome said he was handing out flyers to raise awareness about the case during the afternoon trial recess when, he claimed, the plainclothed officer approached and then issued a death threat.
“An officer threatened my life right across the street as we were going into Starbucks. He said, ‘When I put in my retirement papers, I’m going to f**king kill you.’ I will not be intimidated,” Newsome said.
The altercation was observed by several eyewitnesses, including a journalist covering the trial who anonymously vouched that the threat was made.
“It was crazy. He said he was going to come to his house and kill him after his retirement. Hawk was yelling, giving him his address,” the witnesses said. ‘They were yelling at each other.”
Newsome was unable to provide the name or badge number of the officer. At this time, amNewYork has not been able to confirm if the person who issued the death threat was a member of the NYPD or a member of another law enforcement agency.
Regardless, Newsome stated he was going directly to the Bronx District Attorney’s office to file a complaint.
“They threatened an activist’s life. I’ve been arrested a lot of times for protesting in peace, but I’ve never been convicted of nothing. All I do is fight for the people, and I don’t deserve to have my life threatened by a member of an organization that has 36,000 members, and they all have guns,” Newsome said.
The NYPD did not immediately respond for comment.
Jan. 14 marked the first day of the Duran trial, which could last several weeks.
