Thousands join peaceful George Floyd protests in NYC, then an ambush amid curfew

A day that started with hope that New York City was starting to discover a approach out of the disaster brought on by the coronavirus and every week of indignant demonstrations over police brutality ended Wednesday with extra violence.

Peaceful protests over the loss of life of George Floyd drew 1000’s of individuals, however have been damaged up by police as rain poured down about an hour after the town’s eight pm curfew went into impact.

Then, with the streets quiet for the primary time in days, police mentioned a person ambushed officers on an anti-looting patrol in Brooklyn, stabbing him within the neck. The attacker was shot by responding officers and was in important situation.

Two officers suffered gunshot wounds to their palms within the chaos, however all three wounded officers have been anticipated to get well.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea referred to as it “a completely, cowardly, despicable, unprovoked attack on a defenseless police officer.” While he declined to say what motivated the assault, he drew a line to the heated rhetoric of the previous week, during which indignant crowds decrying police violence have additionally hurled insults, and typically bottles, bricks and firebombs, at officers and their autos.

“Words matter,” Shea mentioned.

More protests have been deliberate for Thursday round New York, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo referred to as for a statewide second of silence at 2 p.m., to coincide with a memorial service in Minnesota for Floyd.

Wednesday evening’s assault got here on the finish of the day during which the police had drawn reward for bringing a cease to days of pilfering and destruction in some elements of the town, but additionally harsh criticism for tough techniques used to implement the town’s curfew.

About an hour after the eight p.m. deadline to get off the road, officers started shifting in on crowds of demonstrators in Manhattan and Brooklyn, at occasions blasting individuals with pepper spray or utilizing batons to shove individuals who didn’t transfer quick sufficient.

Asked whether or not these officers had acted appropriately, de Blasio mentioned Thursday that he had not seen movies of officers utilizing batons on peaceable protesters. He added, “ if there’s anything that needs to be reviewed.”

The mayor mentioned protesters ought to observe the curfew that’s in place by means of Sunday. “If at a certain point, officers say, ‘It’s time, people need to go now,’ people need to listen to that,” he mentioned.

NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan mentioned about 60 individuals have been arrested close to Central Park for defying an order to go dwelling.

“When we have these big crowds, especially in this area, especially where we’ve had the looting, no more tolerance,” Monahan mentioned. “They have to be off the street.”

City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who attended a rally in downtown Brooklyn, expressed outrage that police had damaged up the peaceable demonstration by shoving protesters and hitting them with batons.

“I can’t believe what I just witnessed & experienced,” Williams wrote on Twitter. He referred to as the usage of power on nonviolent protesters “disgusting.”

As the night deepened, there have been few experiences of the mayhem that had occurred on a number of days of demonstrations, when protesters burned police autos and showered officers with particles. Gone additionally have been the roving bands of people that smashed their approach into scores of shops and stole merchandise Sunday and Monday nights.

During the day, some protesters had been heartened by information that three extra Minneapolis cops had been charged in connection to the May 25 loss of life of Floyd, a black man who died after an officer pressed a knee on his neck.

But most mentioned they wished larger societal adjustments to struggle institutional racism in policing.

“There’s been progress, but are we at a point where we can all celebrate? No,” mentioned demonstrator Lisa Horton, calling for “radical change” within the prison justice system.

Tuesday evening’s protests had additionally been largely peaceable, prompting de Blasio to declare that an early curfew was working.

It is ready to stay in impact by means of at the least Sunday, with the town planning to raise it on the identical time it enters the primary part of reopening after greater than two months of shutdowns due to the coronavirus.

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Jennifer Peltz, Brian Mahoney and Jake Seiner in New York City and Marina Villeneuve in Albany contributed to this report.