Police Car Knocks Down Man on Bike During George Floyd Anniversary Protest

Video posted on social media captured the moment a New York police vehicle knocked a cyclist off his bike during a protest marking the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's murder.

The incident occurred moments after a Volkswagen sedan pushed through a group of protesters on bikes on the Brooklyn Bridge at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, a spokesman for the New York Police Department told Newsweek.

The spokesman said when the vehicle attempted to move through the traffic, a cyclist jumped onto the hood of the vehicle.

The Volkswagen then sped off with the man on the hood. Police couldn't say how fast the vehicle was going, but said the matter remains under investigation.

The NYPD spokesman said a police vehicle that was following the protest pursued the Volkswagen and "inadvertently" struck another cyclist with the vehicle's side-view mirror.

"The police officer in that vehicle had seen the suspect's vehicle driving with the individual on the hood, and in an attempt to pull over that vehicle, the bicyclist was side-struck," the spokesman said.

Screams are heard in the video capturing the moments after the vehicle drove off with the man on the hood.

The clip then shows the NYPD vehicle drive forward and knock another man off his bike. He appears to get up seconds later, as others are seen rushing to his aid.

Although the person who posted the clip was unsure when it took place, the NYPD spokesman confirmed it took place on the Brooklyn Bridge on Tuesday night.

The NYPD spokesman said the cyclist had "very minor complaints of pain" and refused medical attention at the scene.

He added that police soon caught up with the Volkswagen and arrested the driver, who was not named. Charges against him are pending, the NYPD spokesman said.

Police said the man who was on the hood of the Volkswagen sustained only "scrapes and bruises."

He and another man who was struck by the vehicle both refused medical attention, according to the NYPD spokesman.

There were "no major injuries whatsoever," the spokesman added. "Everybody refused medical attention."

Journalist James Rogers shared aerial footage showing traffic backing up on the bridge in the aftermath of the incident.

"Incident on the #BrooklynBridge earlier," he wrote alongside the clip. "Just before I shot this there were screams as a car pushed through a group of protestors on bikes. I was told that a police car pursued the car & that a protestor was injured."

Rallies were held across the country on Tuesday to mark a year since Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died at the hands of Minneapolis police, prompting worldwide protests against racial injustice.

Members of Floyd's family met with President Joe Biden at the White House, where they urged Congress to pass police reform legislation in Floyd's name.