A group of young men began throwing punches and then bottles at the officers in a chaotic scene caught on video as the cops attempted to detain a man for possession of a firearm. The unruly men were reportedly drinking on the street, blasting loud music and blocking traffic at the intersection of 168th Street and Sheridan Avenue, near the route of the Dominican Day parade which ended shortly before the out-of-control incident, police sources said. Police responded to the scene to break up the ongoing party and encountered one man with a gun around 7:30 p.m. As they cuffed the armed individual, others in the crowd began tussling with the officers, according to the video and police sources. Several people can be heard in the video asking the cops why they were pushing the man before the wild brawl enfolded. “Yo, back up! Go home!” one cop shouts at the person filming. As the officers escort the man to a waiting police vehicle, a man wearing a black mask and black baseball cap can be seen in the video outstretching his arm towards one of the cops — possibly hitting him. The officer then pushes the masked man and throws him to the ground as additional cops pile up onto him. “Look, they’re hitting him,” a person can be heard shouting. The officers shove others back before a man in a yellow shirt brazenly comes at the officer who urged the group to back up with fists up. The crowd disperses from the police and someone off camera begins hurling glass bottles at the cops from across the street. The officers run and dodge the projectiles as the sound of glass shattering can be heard in the video. Police sources said the reckless pack included members of the Trinitarios, a Dominican gang. At least six people were arrested during the pandemonium — one for firearms possession and the others for disorderly conduct, according to the sources. The melee unfolded two and a half hours after a man was shot about four blocks north as the parade was still winding down the Grand Concourse.
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