In New York City, protesters, activists and dozens of groups are calling on the City Council to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, which has engaged in brutal attacks on demonstrators. Scores of New Yorkers testified this week, including organizer Isabelle Leyva.

Isabelle Leyva: “During the more than 200 protests that I have documented at since 2020 myself with my two eyes, I have seen the SRG use barricades to break limbs. I have seen the SRG kettle protesters and pummel trapped people with batons and fists. I have seen the SRG hold a Taser to the head of an unhoused man while clearing Washington Square Park after curfew. I have seen the SRG use their bicycles like baseball bats, swinging them at people’s heads. I have seen the SRG stand on top of cars and swing their batons at the crowd below. I have seen the SRG pile on top of protesters as they scream, 'I can't breathe.’”