Washington: The ninth straight evening of protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody kicked off on a calmer note in many parts of the United States on Wednesday — a fragile peace that officials hoped would hold.
In New York City, a curfew started at 8 p.m. for the second night in a row after it yielded less looting, vandalism and violence in the nation’s most populous city on Tuesday compared to Monday night, NBC New York reported.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., hundreds of protesters took a knee in front of a wall of law enforcement officers and National Guard members near the White House. Some protesters played music and handed out water in a stark contrast to scenes from earlier in the week, when, witnesses said, tear gas and smoke were used to disperse demonstrators.
The mostly tranquil gatherings came hours after more charges were handed down in Floyd’s death. A murder charge against Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer seen in a video digging his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes as Floyd pleaded for his life, was elevated to second-degree from third-degree. And the three other officers who were present while Floyd was on the ground were charged Wednesday with aiding and abetting murder. All four officers were fired after Floyd’s death.
Amid the protests which have dislodged coronavirus from news headline in America, President Trump has posed as a strongman, an upholder of ‘law and order’, criticizing state governors, sometimes justifiably, of their inability to keep the unrest under check, and prevent looting and mayhem. Some of his own party leaders have said that his approach is not unhelpful under the circumstances, he should have shown more empathy to the inequities the black communities still faces.
Trump’s threat to send in the military to quell violent protests has created some tension with top military figures. Defense Secretary Mare Esper said the military option should be used in extreme cases. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis, in fact, tore into Trump, for his handling of the protests.
In New York, Gov. Cuomo called the NYPD’s top cop to apologize for saying police officers “were ineffective” in tamping down widespread looting during protests over the death of George Floyd, NYPD Chief Terence Monahan said Wednesday.
Gov. Cuomo reached out late Tuesday to NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea to apologize, Monahan said during a TV interview.
“I know he called the commissioner directly to
During his daily press briefing Tuesday, Cuomo bashed how the cops handled massive looting in Midtown and the Bronx the night before.
The New York Times is reporting that many states are considering legislation to implement police reforms in the wake of the protests over Floyd’s death.
