Police said hundreds of young people spilled into midtown Manhattan near Times Square early Monday in what has become a raucous annual ritual on the weekend of the New York International Auto Show. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Tuesday that some of those involved this year skipped the auto show altogether and headed straight for Times Square.
According to court documents released Tuesday, people arrested sprained a police officer's wrist, hurled bottles at one another and at least one knife had a knife during the brawl.
One man curled his hands into fists and cursed at officers, another refused to move out of the way as a sergeant tried to investigate one of the shootings, and other defendants blocked sidewalks and streets, according to police accounts that emerged as at least 21 of some 33 people arrested were arraigned.
Plea and bail information wasn't immediately available. The charges mainly included disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, though some defendants faced other charges ranging from assault to marijuana possession.
None of those arraigned was charged in the shootings, which wounded a man and three women.
Besides the 33 arrested, another 23 were released after getting summonses or juvenile reports.
The yearly ruckus has spurred stabbings and dozens of arrests before, but Monday's mayhem brought more arrests and gained more attention than usual. It came amid concerns about an uptick in murders, felony assaults and rapes in the first quarter of this year after several years of historic lows.
"New York cannot take one step backward in our fight to keep our streets safe," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement, adding that he was "extremely concerned about the threat to public safety these cases represent."
Overall, crime in the city remains at record lows.
