NYPD Chief Monahan, other officers hurt in clash with marchers on Brooklyn Bridge

NEW YORK - A group of protesters charged police on the Brooklyn Bridge during a clergy-led peace march across the Brooklyn Bridge, according to the NYPD. Several officers, including Chief of Department Terence Monahan, were hurt, a law enforcement official said.

The Black Lives Matter protesters had been encamped in City Hall Park when they confronted police just after 10 a.m. Wednesday. Sources said at least three officers were hurt. One protester was treated at the scene. Monahan, the department's highest-ranking uniformed officer, suffered a broken finger when he was hit with an object, the New York Post reported, which FOX 5 NY has confirmed.

The violence broke out when the anti-police protesters and anti-violence marchers clashed on the bridge. As the clergy-led march against violence stepped foot onto the Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn side, Black Lives Matter protestors from the Manhattan side charged onto the bridge and fought with police, FOX 5 NY learned.

The NYPD tweeted a video showing someone swinging a stick-like object, possibly a cane, at cops on the bridge. Another video shared by the department shows blood flowing from one officer's head and another staggering to an ambulance.

Police called for reinforcements, who came running. Cops arrested at least 37 people, the NYPD said. 

The prayer march to City Hall included thousands of people calling for an end to violence soaring across the city. Those gathered participated in singing after speeches encouraging people to stop the violence.

"We've come to turn down the walls of injustice and social inequality. We are here to build walls and build bridges that unite people," said one marcher.

Gun violence has soared in New York City with 132 shootings reported in the past 10 days. Six people were shot in Crown Heights overnight leaving one man dead.