A frequent police provocateur was reportedly arrested Wednesday for throwing a flaming hat at the home of a New York Police Department officer during a protest against police allegedly brutally treating demonstrators at an earlier rally.
Terrell Harper, 42, and other protesters showed up outside the officer's home in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, on Monday night after police “laid down protesters” at a separate rally at the police precinct the previous day, Harper claimed on social media.
An NYPD spokesman said the person who allegedly provoked police was “standing in the front yard with protesters and yelling at the victim to come outside.”
“The man then took his hat, set it on fire and threw it,” the spokesman said.
According to videos posted online, protesters outside the officer's home were seen chanting “Call Justin!” and yelling at the officer to come outside in an attempt to intimidate him.
“It's all about making them scared of us. It's all about making them want to quit their f**king jobs, you know that?” Harper later bragged about the protest in front of the officers' homes in a video posted to Instagram. “There's no way they can stop us from going back to that situation. [cop’s] house.”
During a noisy nighttime protest, Harper is said to have hurled a flaming hat at a window of the home. It is unclear where the hat landed.
The officers whose homes were targeted waited outside the 73rd Precinct home during Sunday's protests against the NYPD following the Sept. 15 incident when two officers opened fire on a knife-wielding suspect in a crowded subway car, shooting and killing two innocent bystanders.
Harper, who was sued by an Asian police officer in 2021 for hurling racist slurs at the same officer, criticized police for being overly aggressive and using their hands on protesters.
Obtained by the NY Post
“He was being very aggressive and spat at us. He was trying to let us know that he wasn't going to make fun of us and that we are the people he contracted to protect,” he said in an Instagram video. “So we had no choice but to let him know that we weren't going to make fun of him.”
Police sources and Harper himself have said the officer was not involved in the “friendly fire” incident on September 15 in which one of the innocent victims survived.
“He didn't even shoot up the subway, he just laid hands on protesters,” he acknowledged.
Police said Harper was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with theft, extortion, incitement to a riot, aggravated harassment, criminal damage to property, tampering, arson and criminal intimidation.
William Farrington
Police sources said officers were currently guarding the home of the targeted officer as extra security.
But Harper warned in the video that more officers will be coming to the home.
“Now I'm going to start visiting everyone's homes in that damn station,” he said with a laugh.
But Harper was charged with menacing and harassment on Tuesday after allegedly threatening another officer.
According to court documents, the suspect allegedly told the NYPD sergeant, “You're next. I'm coming to your house next” and “Don't you know what I did last night?” in an apparent reference to the Sunset Park housing protests.
The targeted protests were roundly condemned by police supporters.
“This incident proves once again that anti-police activists aren't actually interested in justice or accountability; they seek to undermine police officers by targeting them for harassment and more,” PBA president Patrick Hendry said in a statement.
“We are continuing our investigations to ensure that those who terrorised my brother and his family are brought to justice.”
