Action at Manhattan’s 5th Precinct carried out in solidarity with victims of police violence, labour repression, and systemic brutality
~ Alisa-Ece Tohumcu ~
Tyres on 14 NYPD vehicles at Manhattan’s 5th Precinct were deflated last week in targeted attacks spotlighting victims of violence and inequality. The action report released on New Year’s Eve dedicated each action to a particular case of police impunity and systemic injustice.
Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old experiencing a mental health crisis, died in May 2023 after Daniel Penny, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, placed him in a choke-hold on a subway train. Penny was questioned but released the same day without charges, sparking public outrage over the NYPD’s handling of mental health crises.
Similarly, Win Rozario, a 19-year-old, died in November 2024 after calling 911 for help during a mental health crisis. Despite her mother’s pleas for de-escalation, Rozario was fatally shot by police, with no significant consequences for the officer involved.
Gregory Delpeche died in June 2022 after being restrained by police officers who, according to footage, used intense physical force, including strangling him to the point of unconsciousness. The officers involved faced no substantial disciplinary action, remaining on administrative leave as the investigation concluded without charges.
“Like Luigi Mangione just showed”, said the action report, “stop being helpless in the face of our problems. Take them out instead”.
Other individuals listed include Derell Mickles, a 36-year-old, who died in March 2021 after being tased while fleeing from police; Kamari Hughes, just 16 years old, who was killed during a traffic stop in August 2020; and Jason Salters, a 29-year-old Black man and father of two, who was fatally shot in July 2020 despite posing no immediate threat, according to witnesses. Eudes Pierre, and Eric Garner are also included in the list, as is Yang Song, who allegedly fell to her death in 2017 during a police anti-prostitution raid at a massage parlour.
The other actions were dedicated to Enric Duran and four wider targets of NYPD brutality and harassment: Palestine protestors, the city’s unhoused and harassed street vendors, and Amazon workers whose picket line the police broke in December.
