Centereach woman charged with assault on cops in connection with October protest, NYPD says

A 26 Centereach woman was arrested Thursday on charges she drove her Mercury Grand Marquis into two police officers at a demonstration in Brooklyn last October, NYPD officials said.

Samantha Botte, 26, surrendered with her attorney at the 81st Precinct in Brooklyn to face multiple charges including assault, attempted assault, reckless endangerment and reckless driving, the NYPD said in a statement.

Investigators had been searching for Botte since the night of October 27 when she failed to heed the direction of two officers conducting crowd control who asked her to stop her car for the safety of other officers and demonstrators, police said. Instead, Botte drove away and in the process hit the cops, the NYPD alleged.

Investigators were able to trace the vehicle because of a distinctive license plate which read "ANUTHA1," according to a police spokesman.

The two injured officers were at the scene near the intersection of Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue to monitor a crowd which was protesting the killing by police a day earlier of a Black man in Philadelphia.

One NYPD officer suffered pain and swelling to the left side while another cop suffered a lacerated right wrist, according to the NYPD.

The officers , who were not identified, were taken by ambulance to Kings County Hospital for treatment.

It was unclear from the police report why Botte was in the vicinity for the demonstration, which led to some clashes with police and vandalism.

The car she allegedly drove had two decals on the rear window, including one that read "Black Lives Matter" and the other containing an obscenity about the police, according to photos released by the NYPD.

A news report at the time said a woman had been stopped in her car by cops near demonstrators, telling officers she was just trying to go home and then driving away.

A spokeswoman for Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the office had not received any paperwork on the case. Botte’s attorney couldn’t be immediately reached for comment on Thursday.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.