Protests in the United States are becoming increasingly violent in the aftermath of George Floyd's alleged murder in Minneapolis on Monday, with footage of police cars charging into a crowd of demonstrators inciting widespread outrage on social media.
Video uploaded to Twitter shows two New York Police Department vehicles plunging into a group of protesters in Brooklyn, drawing petrified screams from bystanders.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a politician serving as the US Representative for New York's 14th congressional district, shared the footage to her Twitter on Sunday (NZ time), calling for New York's mayor Bill de Blasio to bring the responsible officers "to justice".
"NYPD officers just drove an SUV into a crowd of human beings. They could've killed them, & we don't know how many they injured," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
"NO ONE gets to slam an SUV through a crowd of human beings... these officers need to be brought to justice, not dismissed w/'internal reviews'."
Footage filmed from another angle shows one police car sitting stationary behind a barrier as protesters hurl items, including trash and a traffic cone, at the vehicle. A second car pulls up slowly beside it, before continuing to push through the crowd, sending people scrambling.
The first police car is suddenly seen ramming into the barrier at such force, the demonstrators are flung backwards onto the road. A man in a red top jumps onto the bonnet and begins attacking the vehicle in rage.
The footage has gone viral in a matter of hours, attracting widespread outrage and condemnation.
"We need rapid, real de-escalation and we need it right now. We cannot descend into the chaos of violence," Ocasio-Cortez continued. "Please everyone, stay safe."
"'NY's finest'. Disgusting," tweeted another, alongside separate video footage of the incident.
Protests are continuing to escalate following the alleged murder of African-American man George Floyd on Monday, who was pinned to the ground with Caucasian cop Derek Chauvin's knee on his neck for seven minutes. Footage captured by a bystander shows the man pleading for air before becoming still.
Chauvin, 44, was charged with third-degree murder on Friday (local time), but the protesters have only gathered momentum over recent days.
Tensions were only inflamed by President Donald Trump, who drew global anger when he tweeted that "looting" would be met with "shooting" amid the increasingly violent riots.
New Zealand international law expert Alexander Gillepsie told Newshub the President has "no interest" in resolving the disorder, claiming his agenda is to keep the American public distracted from the economic fallout of the country's devastating COVID-19 outbreak.
