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NEW YORK (AP) — A crowd of thousands that packed Manhattan’s Union Square for a popular livestreamer’s hyped giveaway got out of hand Friday afternoon, with some in the crowd clambering on vehicles, hurling chairs and throwing punches, leaving police struggling to rein in the chaos.

Aerial TV news footage showed a surging, tightly packed crowd running through the streets, scaling structures in the park and snarling traffic. Shouting teenagers swung objects at car windows, and some people climbed on top of a moving vehicle, falling off as it sped away. Others pounded on or climbed atop city buses.

By 5:30 p.m., police officers in growing numbers had regained control of much of the area, but small skirmishes were still breaking out, with young people knocking over barricades and tossing bottles and even a flower pot at officers. Police were seen wrestling people to the ground and chasing them down the street.

There were some arrests and some injuries, including to officers, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said in the evening. But no details or numbers were yet available.

“People were suffering out here,” Maddrey said, adding that he saw people bleeding and having asthma and panic attacks.

Numerous people were seen in hand restraints, sitting on the sidewalks, and at least one young man led away by two officers. Police formed lines in the street to try to direct the crowd.

On his Instagram feed, the streamer Kai Cenat had an image promoting a giveaway at 4 p.m. in the park. Some young people leaving the park said they had come expecting to get a computer for livestreaming and a new PlayStation.

Skylark Jones, 19, and a friend came to see Cenat and try to get something from his giveaway, which they said was promoted as a chance for things like gaming consoles or a gaming chair, as well as an opportunity to see the popular streamer.

When they arrived the scene was already packed, bottles were being thrown by people in the crowd and there was a commotion even before Cenat appeared, they said.

“It was a movie,” Jones said. Police “came with riot shields, charging at people.”

Cenat, 21, is a video creator with 6.5 million followers on the platform Twitch, where he regularly livestreams. He also boasts 4 million subscribers on YouTube, where he posts daily life and comedy vlogs ranging from “Fake Hibachi Chef Prank!” to his most recent video, “I Rented Us Girlfriends In Japan!”

His 299 YouTube videos have amassed more than 276 million views among them. In December he was crowned streamer of the year at the 12th annual Streamy Awards. Messages sent to his publicist, management company and an email address for business inquiries were not immediately returned.

Livestreaming on Twitch from a vehicle as the event gathered steam, Cenat displayed gift cards he planned to give away. Noting the crowd and police presence, he urged, “Everybody who’s out there, make sure y’all safe. … We’re not gonna do nothin’ until it’s safe.” Eventually he and an entourage got out of the vehicle and hustled through an excited crowd, crossed a street and went into the park before the stream cut out.

Carina Treile, manager of Petite Optique, an eyeglass shop nearby, was forced to remain in her store after it closed because police were still clearing the scene outside.

“Usually with people giving away free stuff, it’s never like this. It’s very organized,” she said. “And here we have a very chaotic scene.”

Treile said there were some loud bangs at some point, which frightened some in the crowd.

“That was a little bit scary, especially when people started running.”

Police, some with batons, used metal barricades to push the crowd back and loudspeakers to issue a warning: “This gathering is unlawful. You are ordered to disperse.”

Associated Press writers Brooke Lansdale, Mallika Sen, Deepti Hajela, Mallika Sen and Karen Matthews contributed to this report.

The post Thousands overwhelm Union Square for streamer giveaway, tossing chairs and pounding cars appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

NEW YORK (AP) — A crowd of thousands that packed Manhattan’s Union Square for a popular livestreamer’s hyped giveaway got out of hand Friday afternoon, with some in the crowd clambering on vehicles, hurling chairs and throwing punches, leaving police struggling to rein in the chaos.

Aerial TV news footage showed a surging, tightly packed crowd running through the streets, scaling structures in the park and snarling traffic. Shouting teenagers swung objects at car windows, and some people climbed on top of a moving vehicle, falling off as it sped away. Others pounded on or climbed atop city buses.

By 5:30 p.m., police officers in growing numbers had regained control of much of the area, but small skirmishes were still breaking out, with young people knocking over barricades and tossing bottles and even a flower pot at officers. Police were seen wrestling people to the ground and chasing them down the street.

There were some arrests and some injuries, including to officers, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said in the evening. But no details or numbers were yet available.

“People were suffering out here,” Maddrey said, adding that he saw people bleeding and having asthma and panic attacks.

Numerous people were seen in hand restraints, sitting on the sidewalks, and at least one young man led away by two officers. Police formed lines in the street to try to direct the crowd.

On his Instagram feed, the streamer Kai Cenat had an image promoting a giveaway at 4 p.m. in the park. Some young people leaving the park said they had come expecting to get a computer for livestreaming and a new PlayStation.

Skylark Jones, 19, and a friend came to see Cenat and try to get something from his giveaway, which they said was promoted as a chance for things like gaming consoles or a gaming chair, as well as an opportunity to see the popular streamer.

When they arrived the scene was already packed, bottles were being thrown by people in the crowd and there was a commotion even before Cenat appeared, they said.

“It was a movie,” Jones said. Police “came with riot shields, charging at people.”

Cenat, 21, is a video creator with 6.5 million followers on the platform Twitch, where he regularly livestreams. He also boasts 4 million subscribers on YouTube, where he posts daily life and comedy vlogs ranging from “Fake Hibachi Chef Prank!” to his most recent video, “I Rented Us Girlfriends In Japan!”

His 299 YouTube videos have amassed more than 276 million views among them. In December he was crowned streamer of the year at the 12th annual Streamy Awards. Messages sent to his publicist, management company and an email address for business inquiries were not immediately returned.

Livestreaming on Twitch from a vehicle as the event gathered steam, Cenat displayed gift cards he planned to give away. Noting the crowd and police presence, he urged, “Everybody who’s out there, make sure y’all safe. … We’re not gonna do nothin’ until it’s safe.” Eventually he and an entourage got out of the vehicle and hustled through an excited crowd, crossed a street and went into the park before the stream cut out.

Carina Treile, manager of Petite Optique, an eyeglass shop nearby, was forced to remain in her store after it closed because police were still clearing the scene outside.

“Usually with people giving away free stuff, it’s never like this. It’s very organized,” she said. “And here we have a very chaotic scene.”

Treile said there were some loud bangs at some point, which frightened some in the crowd.

“That was a little bit scary, especially when people started running.”

Police, some with batons, used metal barricades to push the crowd back and loudspeakers to issue a warning: “This gathering is unlawful. You are ordered to disperse.”

Associated Press writers Brooke Lansdale, Mallika Sen, Deepti Hajela, Mallika Sen and Karen Matthews contributed to this report.

The post Thousands overwhelm New York’s Union Square for streamer giveaway, tossing chairs and pounding cars appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — On the last of his many visits to Jim Brown’s home in Los Angeles, Ray Lewis recalled the legendary running back being as powerful as ever.

As a feeble Brown, in the final months of his life, slowly approached the Hall of Fame linebacker, Lewis braced himself.

“He said, ‘If I put this walker down, I still don’t think you can stop me,’” Lewis said.

No one stopped Jim Brown.

With dozens of fellow Hall of Famers dressed in their signature gold jackets in attendance, Brown’s extraordinary life — on and off the field — was celebrated Thursday during a moving tribute for a man NBC broadcaster and event emcee Mike Tirico perfectly described as “one of a kind, unique, complex and different from anyone you ever met.”

Brown, who died in May at the age of 87, was remembered for not only being one of America’s greatest all-around athletes and one of the top players in NFL history, but a visionary for social change, his work with gang members in Los Angeles and an ability to unite people from different backgrounds.

The touching 90-minute event drew a varied crowd featuring a Who’s Who of football royalty with Emmitt Smith, “Mean” Joe Greene, Ronnie Lott, Barry Sanders mingling with Commissioner Roger Goodell, comedian Dave Chapelle and rapper Flava Flav.

Following a video highlighting Brown’s many accomplishments during nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns — eight-time All-Pro, three-time MVP and 12,312 yards rushing — along with his work during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was the first of six speakers.

“He transcended football,” Haslam said. “Jim got into the entertainment business as an actor, and then Jim was into social justice before there was social justice.”

Rudolph “Rockhead” Johnson, a former California gang leader who spent much of his early life in prison, followed Haslam and expressed his deep love for Brown.

“He is the reason why I am in front of you and alive,” Johnson told the audience, which included hundreds of fans who waited in long lines to pay their final respects to Brown, who retired after the 1964 season.

Johnson recalled that after meeting Brown, he was invited to the star’s home and went there carrying a .357 magnum handgun. He also explained that Brown talked him out of seeking revenge after his 15-year-old daughter was murdered — on his birthday.

“And for the first time in my life, I fought my bad negative feelings and I went against my own neighborhood,” Johnson said. “I started crying in front of a man, and I’ve never done that before in my life. That’s how much he meant to me.

“Because of him and what he stood for and what he helped me understand about myself, it allowed me to be a man today, a responsible father and hardworking citizen in our society. But Jim Brown was every bit of a man. He was a man among men.”

Bob Arum told two remarkable stories about Brown.

The 91-year-old sports entertainment maven was practicing law in New York, when Brown was the one who convinced him in 1965 to become a boxing promoter. The founder and CEO of Top Rank, Arum also recalled how it was Brown who organized the famed “Cleveland Summit,” when Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and other prominent Black athletes met to promote economic empowerment.

Following Arum, singer Johnny Gill did a stirring rendition of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” with his final words bringing many in the auditorium to their feet.

John Wooten, one of Brown’s former teammates, also asked the crowd to stand, raise their hands and pledge what was at the core of his dear late friend’s message to others.

“Human dignity,” the 86-year-old Wooten said as the crowd repeated his words. “Respect everybody.”

Wooten then asked Lewis, who spent countless hours learning from Brown and referred to him as “Papa” to stand.

“This is the man that Jim chose to be the next leader of the athletes,” Wooten said, pointing toward Lewis. “He told me, ‘This is our guy.’”

The 48-year-old Lewis, who retired in 2012 after 17 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, delivered his remarks about Brown with the fiery passion of a Sunday preacher.

Lewis recently lost his son, Ray Lewis III, to an accidental drug overdose at the age of 28, and said if he had one wish it would be to ask God for one more conversation with his son and Brown.

In closing, Lewis offered advice while asking a favor from his mentor.

“A lot of fathers truly believe it’s what you can give your children that will make you happy,” he said. “It’s not what you can give your kids, it’s what you can leave your kids. You leave your kids hope, faith, love, promise.

“Jim Brown,” Lewis said, pausing and looking skyward. “Jim Brown. A lot of people trying to figure out ways to go to the moon. Papa, if you don’t do nothing else, whisper to my son and let him know. I will see you both real soon.”

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

The post Jim Brown remembered as “man among men” during tribute to Browns late Hall of Fame running back appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here