Dramatic confrontation between migrants, NYC cops ends with one booted from Randall’s Island shelter

One person was booted from the increasingly lawless Randall’s Island tent city after a dramatic caught-on-video confrontation between NYPD officers and migrants.

The chaotic scene kicked off around 11 a.m. Thursday, when police responded to reports of a man causing a disturbance at the shelter, according to authorities.

“Upon arrival officers observed a male who was involved in a verbal dispute with security and acting in a disorderly fashion,” an NYPD spokesperson told The Post.

“The person was removed from the premises. No injuries were reported.”

Police later clarified that the man “was removed from the immediate area so the situation didn’t escalate.”

Law enforcement sources said officers arrested one person, but that prosecutors declined to move forward with the case, resulting in the arrest being sealed. More information wasn’t immediately available.

Video of the incident shows a man in a white T-shirt and dark pants sparring with several police officers in plain view of a large crowd.

Some onlookers eventually jumped into the fray — even nailing one female officer in the head with a backpack before the man was held down.

It’s not clear what led to the scuffle, or what the unruly man was doing there.

Manuel Eduardo, 24, said that the man did not live at the shelter, but may have tried to stay the night there after looking for his mother, who was being housed at the tent city.

“At first security approached him and asked the man to leave. From there his resistance to their requests led to police being invited into the discussion,”  Eduardo, a migrant from Venezuela, told The Post Tuesday.

“At first two cops showed up, then two became four, and four quickly turned to eight. They really struggled with him,” he said.

“Two men started fighting and when the cops tried to intervene that’s when people started hurling bottles and bags,” Umayro, a migrant from Kyrgyzstan, added. 

Umayro recalled “lots of yelling and fighting,” but was not sure what sparked the fight.

“The shelter security and cops treated him like an animal,” Eduardo insisted, claiming that the unnamed man was a “nice guy who only wanted to visit his mom.” 

“It’s unfair and inhumane kicking someone out into the cold,” he said.

The investigation was ongoing, police said.

The melee was “terrifying but normal,” Akmaral Satybaldieva, 21, told The Post of the tent city, which has been plagued by issues since it sprung up in August 2023.

Rogue migrants expelled from Big Apple shelters have also been setting up an illegal mini-tent city outside the site — and have been slinging weed.

“I want to run from this place as fast as I can. Everyday there’s fights. It’s not safe and people can just steal your things,” Satybaldieva, who is from Kyrgyzstan, lamented.

Police have been inside the shelter at all times since 24-year-old Dafren Canizalez was knifed to death in the cafeteria tent last month, shelter workers told The Post.

The suspect, Moises Coronado, allegedly asked security cards to let him “finish the job” moments after the bloody stabbing, prosecutors said.

Cameras have already been installed at the Randall’s Island site, and a review is still ongoing as to installing metal detectors, as well, Chief of Staff Joseph Varlack said Tuesday afternoon.

“We have – I think the numbers here 3000 men in that facility, the overwhelming number of them… looking to take the next step in the journey,” Mayor Eric Adams said of the Randall’s Island incident during a press conference.

“Do you have bad actors? Yes. And anytime you have 3000 people who are placed in an environment that they cannot work, they have to sit around all day,” Hizzoner continued.

“The police officers went in, carried out their job and used the minimum amount of force to take your suspects into custody, and we’re going to do a redo because of that video,” Adams said, adding that he was briefed on the incident that morning and was expecting a follow-up meeting.

“This is what happens when you do this national problem on a city,” he said.

For Satybaldieva – who arrived just one month ago, and knows nobody except for her friend, Sasha – the Randall’s Island tent city has been “an OK place to start,” but is not a long term solution

She also showed The Post a video of a separate altercation, which she said illustrated the realities of life at the facility.

“I want to leave, the food is bad and it’s dangerous.” she said of the tent city, adding that she eventually hopes to get a job in the hotel industry, which she worked in for two years in Dubai.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for a comment on the incident.

Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy and Haley Brown