An NYPD officer was struck by a vehicle during a funeral procession in Borough Park Tuesday afternoon, the NYPD said.
The incident happened near 14th Avenue and 58th Street around 1:45 p.m., a police spokesman said. Video and photos from the procession for Grand Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal show thousands of people in the streets as his coffin is carried down the road.
The officer was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn with a leg injury and was expected to recover, according to the spokesman. NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill, speaking at an unrelated event, said the officer may have a broken ankle.
Another officer suffered a minor injury during the funeral when a drone that appeared to run out of gas landed on his head, Chief Rodney Harrison said. The person operating the drone was being questioned, but no one has been charged.
Deputy Insp. David Wall, commander of the 66th Precinct, had warned of heavy traffic in the area where the officer was struck because of the rabbi’s funeral procession.
Portugal, 95, who was a Holocaust survivor, died on Monday.
"We mourn the loss of Grand Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal, who inspired many. We stand alongside with our Jewish community," Deputy Insp. Emmanuel Gonzalez, the 72nd Precinct’s commander, tweeted on Monday.
Fourteenth Avenue was closed to vehicle traffic between 52nd and 61st streets for several hours, but reopened around 3:30 p.m., according to Wall.
