WATCH: Cops knock woman to the ground as Washington DC again gripped by protests

Police officers in Washington, DC, have been caught on camera knocking a woman to the ground as demonstrations in the US capital once again spiralled into violence.

The incident occurred during bad-tempered demonstrations shortly after 1am on Thursday outside Saint John’s Episcopal Church in the shadow of the White House.

Video footage captured by an eyewitness shows the woman approaching a group of police officers, only to be shoved to the ground by two of the cops. The shove sparked a furious reaction from other bystanders, who could be seen berating the police.

The woman, whom the eyewitness described as “elderly,” appeared unhurt following the scuffle, which bore striking similarities to an incident in Buffalo, New York, earlier this month which saw an elderly man knocked unconscious by a cop.

The incident occurred at the tail end of another round of Black Lives Matter demonstrations next to Washington, DC’s Lafayette Park on Wednesday night. During the protest activists could be heard chanting slogans such as “Racist cops have got to go!” and “No justice, no peace!”

The area has been a hotbed for confrontations between protesters and police for several weeks. On Wednesday the Department of the Interior released new footage of US Park Police clashing with activists late last month. 

“The video shows agitators throwing bricks, glass, bottles, and [launching] other assaults against law enforcement officers,” a spokesperson for the government agency said. 

The spokesman added that more than 60 US Park Police officers have been injured, with some hospitalized and requiring surgeries, since the Black Lives Matter protests erupted in the wake of the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police last month.

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