New York City police arrested multiple demonstrators Thursday after violent protests that followed the death of a man in police custody in Minnesota earlier in the week, according to local reports.
They had turned out to protest the death of George Floyd, who died after an encounter with Minneapolis police on Monday. Video of the incident went viral and has led to protests around the U.S. — including incidents of looting in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 28: A protesters is detained by police during a rally against the death of Minneapolis, Minnesota man George Floyd at the hands of police on May 28, 2020 in Union Square in New York City. Floyd’s death was captured in video that went viral of the incident. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called in the National Guard today as looting broke out in St. Paul. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Videos out of New York show protesters clashing with police, as well as scenes of more peaceful marching and chanting.
Some of the protesters hurled bottles at officers, resulting in more than five arrests near Union Square Park, the New York Post reported.
In some videos, the crowd can be heard chanting “Black lives matter” or “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
In one video, a police officer holding a camcorder repeatedly tells protesters to “back up” as other officers make an arrest behind him and a swarm of masked, young people surround them.
Although most of the protesters and police officers can be seen wearing face masks, many in the crowd appeared to flout the city’s social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 28: Protesters clash with police during a rally against the death of Minneapolis, Minnesota man George Floyd at the hands of police on May 28, 2020 in Union Square in New York City. Floyd’s death was captured in video that went viral of the incident. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called in the National Guard today as looting broke out in St. Paul. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
One Twitter user noted the irony, writing, “very hard to social distance on the steps,” along with a photo that showed a throng of people outside a city building.
The New York protests erupted even after the city’s police commissioner, Dermot Shea, condemned the Minnesota incident.
“This is not acceptable anywhere,” he tweeted about Floyd’s death.
Local and federal investigations are underway in Minnesota into the police officers’ handling of Floyd’s arrest, and U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald said Thursday that both President Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr were actively monitoring the situation.
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In a separate incident in New York this week, a white woman called the police and claimed she was being “threatened” by “an African-American man” in Central Park.
That man, who was in the park birdwatching when he said he asked the woman to leash her dog in an area that required dogs to be restrained, recorded the incident and posted it to social media, where it went viral.
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The woman wound up losing her job and forfeiting her dog to an animal rescue.
