Female protester shoved to street by NYPD officer: Cops should exercise 'self-restraint' — even when aggressors come after them

You may have seen video of a New York City police officer shoving a female protester so hard she flew several feet backward and fell to the side of a Brooklyn street Friday.

Police officer appears to push a woman to the ground in New York | George Floyd protestsyoutu.be

Dounya Zayer appeared to be in the middle of the street as officers walked toward her in the beginning of the video. It isn't clear what, if anything, transpired before the officer's shove, but Zayer said she hit her head and suffered seizures and a concussion, the New York Post reported.

The NYPD is investigating the incident, as is state Attorney General Letitia James as part of a broader review ordered by Gov. Andrew Cuomo who called police clashes with protesters Friday "disturbing," the paper said.

A message from Zayer

Zayer posted a Twitter video from her hospital bed the next day — and had a message for police.

"The officers who were at this protest should back down," she said in part. "They should apologize because they're wearing blue. And they're part of the gang that killed George Floyd. And them acting the way they acted today isn't helping the cause. It isn't proving to us that they care about us."

Zayer added: "I wasn't aggressive towards the police officer — and even if I was, he should have had the self-restraint to not hurt the people he's supposed to be protecting. That's the point of them being an officer. They're supposed to protect us. We're all people."

She also said the officer "called me a stupid b***h" and now she "can't stop vomiting" amid her injuries.

Here's a news segment on the incident:

Elected Officials Say NYPD Officer Should Face Charges Over Shoving Incident Caught On Videoyoutu.be