COPS reportedly arrested multiple people as party-goers celebrated Pride in New York on Sunday night.
Video posted to social media showed large groups of law enforcement surrounding Pride revelers in Washington Square Park before a clash reportedly broke out.
Local media reports said that multiple people had been arrested but an NYPD spokesperson told The US Sun that no arrests were made as of 9pm.
Footage posted on Twitter also claimed that pepper spray was being used against the revelers.
Yet the NYPD said it had no reports of it being used on the crowds.
Police in riot gear surrounded the park and charged at the hundreds celebrating in the Square, according to a Business Insider reporter.
Other pictures posted to social media showed a line of officers blocking off Fifth Avenue.
A reporter from The City claimed that the NYPD threatened to arrest one person for unlawfully blocking the sidewalk.
Tensions reportedly rose as officers prevented people from crossing the road into Fifth Avenue.
The officers retreated to a barricaded area under the park's famous arch as the crowds grew angry and the party continued.
It is not clear what caused the altercation and why officers arrived en masse to the area.
The clash came after the New York City Pride parade banned uniformed police officers from taking part.
The Gay Officers' Action League (GOAL), the LGBTQ+ organization of NYPD officers, would not be allowed to participate, Heritage of Pride, the organizing body of NYC Pride, announced in May.
It also announced that there would be a five-year ban on the NYPD's involvement in the march.
The NYPD would be present in a limited capacity but a private security firm would take the lead.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea voiced disappointment at the decision on Thursday.
"This is what makes this department so special," Shea said.
"We are far from perfect. But you look at the diversity of this room — whether it's diversity of the color of your skin, your sexual orientation, or anything else — you've heard me say, we are your police department, and I am so damn proud to be standing up here."
The tension in Washington Square Park in particular comes after the area was the scene of violence when the NYPD attempted to implement a 10pm curfew earlier this month.
It had been introduced as an effort to stamp down on anti-social behavior in the area after a spike in crime and public drug use.
Yet it was lifted again after hundreds turned out to protest.
Thousands of Pride supporters took to the streets in New York City on Sunday for the main march.
After Covid last year put paid to usual celebrations, countless brightly dressed demonstrators have today made their presence felt throughout NYC.
The annual parade is once again virtual this year and is being shown as a television broadcast special since now-lifted pandemic restrictions were still in effect at the time it was being planned.
But thousands have still turned out for the Pride March donning colorful outfits as the sun streams down.
The first event was held 51 years ago in 1970, to mark the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
Pride celebrators have also gathered for PrideFest – a street fair with vendors, food and entertainment in Manhattan.
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