Alvin Bragg releases female Tyre Nichols protester, 25, who punched two NYPD cops in Times Square

A woman arrested for the assault of two police officers during protests in New York over the death of Tyre Nichols has been freed without bail, in a move signed off on by the city’s famously soft-on-crime district attorney.

Candy Nicole, who has a prior arrest for grabbing a male partner’s testicles during an argument, was released on her own recognizance Saturday following a brief appearance in New York County Criminal Court. Notably, DA Alvin Bragg’s office did not object to the decision.

Hours before, the 25-year-old was one of three New Yorkers arrested as thousands descended on Times Square to protest the police brutality death of Nichols, a 29-year-old black man killed earlier this month during a traffic stop by Memphis police.

The procession was one of several across the country to turn violent after Memphis police’s release of video showing the murder Friday, following the department decision this month to charge the five officers involved with murder.

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Candy Nicole, one of three arrested during protests in Manhattan Friday, was released on her own recognizance Saturday following a brief appearance in New York County Criminal Court

Tyre Nichols, 29, was beaten by five Memphis, Tennessee, cops on January 7 and died days later in the hospital. Previously unseen footage of his murder spurred the protests. Earlier this month, the Memphis PD said it had charged the five officers involved with murder

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the lawyer who represented the family of George Floyd in the wake of his 2020 police beating death, applauded the department’s decision to charge the officers Friday, calling the move ‘remarkably swift’ and saying it likely prevented more riots

That decision was applauded Friday as ‘remarkably swift’ by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the lawyer who represented the family of George Floyd in the wake of his 2020 police beating death, who said the move likely prevented more riots. 

Of the three arrested during the demonstration in the Big Apple – which saw a man pulled off the hood of an NYPD patrol car after smashing its windshield with his foot – Nicole is the only one facing more than a misdemeanor.

On Friday, she was hit with a charge of assault as well as hate crime assault, reportedly for insulting one of the officers as she struck him in the face.

Now accused of punching two officers, Nicole ‘maintains her innocence,’ her lawyer Caroline Glickler said Saturday, claiming her client was a victim of ‘unnecessary police force’ during the Friday night incident.

Video filmed during the unrest showed cops pulling one of the suspects off the hood of the defaced police cruiser, shortly after he smashed its windshield with his foot. The suspect, career criminal Argenis Rivera, 33, is facing charges of criminal mischief – a misdemeanor 

The procession – like several others in cities like Memphis, Los Angeles, and Atlanta – began shortly after the horrific footage was released by the Memphis Police Department Friday, first surfacing in Union Square and continuing up into Midtown just before 8pm.

Cops were filmed attempting to keep a lid on the disorder, which began as peaceful but quickly turned violent after one demonstrator, identified as as 33-year-old Argenis Rivera, jumped atop a parked police cruiser.

The outburst sparked a chain of events that would eventually lead to Nicole’s arrest as well as Rivera’s, who authorities Saturday confirmed to be a career criminal before granting him house arrest – a decision also signed off on by Bragg.

Cops were filmed attempting to keep a lid on the disorder, which was mostly peaceful but turned violent after one demonstrator, identified as Argenis Rivera, jumped atop a parked cop cruiser. The outburst sparked a chain of events that would lead to both being arrested

A third suspect, identified Saturday as 34-year-old Katherine Stone, was grabbed for trying to deface the same cruiser with graffiti

Currently facing a charge of criminal mischief, Rivera was held on $10,000 bail only after authorities noted the nature of suspect’s most recent arrest, which came in October for allegedly strangling an unsuspecting mom. 

The 43-year-old victim, police said, had been pushing her two-year-old in a stroller when she was assaulted by the repeat offender in Chelsea. 

In that incident, Rivera – who has 12 other arrests – reportedly punched the unnamed victim in the face and then began choking her while screaming, ‘I am not letting go until police come!… I want to die by police.’

He proceeded to assault another woman who witnessed the incident on a bench nearby, pressing a pair of keys to her throat, saying, ‘Go ahead call the cops I don’t care, police said Saturday. 

Cops said Rivera then punched the woman before cops arrived to find him pinning her the ground. That case has yet to be resolved.

Currently facing a charge of criminal mischief, Rivera was held on $10,000 bail only after authorities noted the nature of suspect’s most recent arrest, which came in October for allegedly strangling a 44-year-old mother who was pushing her two-year-old in a stroller

Despite this and several other violent offenses, Rivera was granted house arrest during an appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court Saturday

In August, he was charged with punching a doorman at a Midtown luxury building but was released after the assault charge was deemed not eligible for bail due to lenient criminal justice reforms implemented by the famously progressive Bragg.

Arriving for his hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court Saturday in a black tee shirt with the emblazoned phrase Miami beach, the suspect was granted house arrest after making bail and promptly cut loose.

Police sources said the suspect has a history of psychiatric issues, with his parents telling the New York Post Saturday that their son was always ‘difficult to control’ and had ‘always did what he wanted’ growing up.

The decisions to release Nicole without bail and put career criminal Rivera on house arrest was signed off on by DA Alvin Bragg, whose soft-on-crime policies have faced criticism for allowing repeat offenders back on the street after committing violent crimes 

Nicole, meanwhile, is facing felony assault charges for attempting to stop Rivera’s arrest, shoving cops away and striking two in the face in the process. 

She was released Saturday without bail, despite being hit with an additional felony charge for allegedly making anti-cop statements as she punched one of the officers in the face, which officers Friday constituted a hate crime.’ It was not clear Sunday whether that charge has been dropped.

A third suspect, confirmed Saturday to be 34-year-old Upper East Side resident Katherine Stone, was grabbed for trying to deface the same cruiser with graffiti. 

She was issued a Desk Appearance Ticket, typically doled out for more minor infractions, and was also released on Saturday. Stone did not immediately respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment.

NYPD officers were seen trying to drag him down from atop the vehicle and eventually arrested him

Another stood over a cop car with a tattered American flag

The arrest came as protests in the Big Apple became violent following the release of footage showing the police beating death of Tyre Nichols

 The three arrested Friday night were among those protesters, who began marching north along Seventh Ave around 7:30 pm, cops said.

A man with a loudspeaker could be heard egging on the horde amid their faceoffs with a spread-thin NYPD. 

‘The only way we get through this is unity — I’m not talking about that khumbaya unity,’ the man said, before specifying: ‘I’m talking about that “if they f**k with us, we f**k s**t up” type of unity.’

The stark reaction stemmed from Memphis police’s release of footage showing the circumstances of Nichols’ January 7 death, with similar processions sprouting up in cities such as Atlanta, LA, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, San Francisco, and Memphis.

Most of the demonstrations have been non-violent, though some – such as the ones seen in New York and LA – have seen emotions run high in the wake of other high-profile brutality deaths including that of George Floyd in 2020. 

The stark reaction stemmed from Memphis police’s release of footage showing the circumstances of Nichols’ January 7 death, with similar processions sprouting up in cities such as LA, where demonstrators picketed outside of LAPD headquarters

Similar demonstrations were seen across the country in cities like Boston, where protesters called for a renewed effort to stop to police brutality toward people of color

A woman is seeing yelling through a bullhorn during protests in Atlanta, which is still in the midst of its emergency declaration

The protests seen Manhattan – which were filmed and shared in real time on social media – were broken up before 11 pm, police said.

As footage of the pandemonium made its rounds online, Mayor Eric Adams – who has in the past criticized soft-on-crime policies Bragg has implemented since the pair both assumed office in January 2021 – was forced to make a statement. 

In it, Adams urged protesters to remain peaceful, while citing extensive preparations made by the NYPD, including asking officers to stay on and work overtime when their shift finished Friday. 

The statement from Adams, a former NYPD captain himself, did not mention Bragg, whom he recently blamed for a rise in crime seen since the pandemic, and the city’s slow recovery since.

Bragg, 40 and has criticized the prosecutor’s soft-on-crime approach and policy changes that have lightened punishments for armed robbery and burglary suspects.

The changes, made after Bragg assumed office along with Adams, makes it easier for career criminals and repeat offenders to be reentered to society while being prosecuted for violent, and often felony-level offenses. 

‘Let’s be clear. We are in a city, in a country, where consequences must go with inappropriate actions,’ Adams said of the correlation between Bragg’s policies and the surge of crimes last year.

As footage of the pandemonium made its rounds online, Mayor Eric Adams – who has in the past criticized soft-on-crime policies Bragg has implemented since the pair both assumed office in January 2021 – was forced to make a statement urging citizens to stay calm 

Bragg has come under fire for polices that aim to eliminate prison sentences for all but the most serious crimes, downgrade felony charges in certain cases of armed robbery and burglary, and drop charges for many low-level offenses

At the time, the mayor said that ‘there is no appropriate response to [criminals’] bad behavior’ because of Bragg’s policies, which aim to eliminate prison sentences for all but the most serious crimes, downgrade felony charges in certain cases of armed robbery and burglary, and drop charges for many low-level offenses.

‘The laws have shown that and it’s troubling, when you could have a person that carries a gun repeatedly, and they’re treated in family court instead of criminal court,’ the mayor said, adding that ‘we need to tweak, tweak the law to reflect that that’s unacceptable,’ he added. 

Bragg, 48, has also revamped he city’s prosecuting policies regarding bail for criminals with violent offenses, after the previous DA eliminated the cash-bail system used in the city for decades before the pandemic in 2020.

Shortly before Adams’ statement Friday, Crump – who is representing the family of the slain Nichols – spoke at a press conference in Memphis, ahead of the graphic body cam footage of Tyre being beaten to death being released at 7pm

Appearing next to members of the 29-year-old’s mother, the celebrity civil rights attorney applauded the Memphis police chief and county prosecutors for quickly taking action against the five officers, despite all of them being being black

He added that the ‘remarkably swift’ decision – which came days after Nichols’ death – should serve as the ‘blueprint’ going forward for handing instances of suspected police brutality, and likely saved lives that potentially could have been lost in further protests

That, experts and criminologists say, spurred an alarming spike in violent crimes that year that was in turn exacerbated by the pandemic. 

‘New York City is a corporation, I’m the new CEO,’ Adams has been quoted as saying. ‘And as in any new CEO, you have to put your plan and programs in place to turn around a failing company. And that’s what we’re experiencing right now.’

Shortly before Adams’ statement Friday, Crump – who is representing the family of the slain Nichols –spoke at a press conference in Memphis, ahead of the graphic body cam footage of Tyre being beaten to death being released at 7pm.

Appearing next to members of the 29-year-old’s mother, the celebrity civil rights attorney applauded the Memphis police chief and county prosecutors for quickly taking action against the five officers, despite all of them being being black

 ‘We applaud the DA for bringing these charges. Let me be exceedingly clear on this point,’ Crump, who has handled several other high-profile, racially charged cases in recent years, said.

He added that the ‘remarkably swift’ decision – which came days after Nichols’ death – should serve as the ‘blueprint’ going forward for handing instances of suspected police brutality.

‘When we look at how these five black officers who were caught on camera committing a crime, and when we look at how fast the police chief and the department terminated them, and how swiftly the DA brought charges against them – in less than 20 days – we want to proclaim this as the blueprint going forward.

He added that it likely saved lives that may have been been lost in further protests, fueled by outrage over the Memphis man’s death. Despite this, hours later, protests would still break out, and have continued through the weekend.

 Crump, who has yet to announce a suit against the Memphis Police Department, said Friday that he was glad that the officers – all of African-American descent – received the same treatment that a white officer would have been subjected to in a similar situation.

‘Any time any officers, whether black or white, are held accountable, you can no longer tell us that we have to wait six months to a year when we have a video of excessive force.

‘No more can you tell us that. With these five black officers, you are moving swiftly, and as the chief said, it was important for the community that they took swift action.

‘When it is a white officer, it is also important that there is swift action. We won’t let black officers be treated differently than white officers.’