After protests against racism in New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio has criticized the crackdown on the police in his city. The officials were “very violent and rude” and also used pepper spray against peaceful demonstrators, said de Blasio. The politician announced an investigation into the events.
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De Blasio also condemned the violence that began on Saturday night by some demonstrators. Some came with the intention of injuring police officers, he said. “We absolutely cannot accept that.” After the death of the African American George Floyd as a result of a brutal police operation in the city of Minneapolis, around 3,000 people took to the streets in New York. There were riots in the neighborhoods of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
More than 200 people were arrested
Many protesters in New York carried placards that read “I can’t breathe,” which George Floyd had said to police officers on Monday before he passed out. During the arrest in Minneapolis, a white officer pressed his knee for minutes into the neck of the 46-year-old, who was lying on the ground.
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More than 200 people were arrested, New York City Police chief Dermot Shea said. There were injuries on both sides. According to Shea, one person threw an incendiary device into a police car that had four officers in it. Some demonstrators also had loaded rifles and projectiles with them. It is difficult for police officers to de-escalate when bricks are flying towards them, Shea said.
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The governor of the state of New York, Andrew Cuomo, also condemned the rioting. But he also showed understanding for the demonstrators. “I share your outrage,” said Cuomo. The injustices that prevail in the US judicial system are “abhorrent”.
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Trump threatens the military
Because of the riots in many cities, US President Donald Trump has threatened local authorities with the use of the “unlimited power of the military”. Governors and mayors would have to act “much harder”, otherwise the government would intervene, he threatened on Twitter. The government is ready to do what is necessary to get the situation under control. Then there will be “many arrests”, he threatened during a flight to the state of Florida.
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Trump had previously stated that he had offered the state of Minnesota the help of the armed forces because of the violent protests. The soldiers are ready and can be “very quickly”, said Trump in the garden of the White House. The protesters are not about to honor the African American George Floyd, who died on Monday as a result of a police operation in Minneapolis, Trump said. Rather, they are left chaos who are only interested in rioting.
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