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George Floyd Protest In Union Square Met With "Aggressive" NYPD Response, Multiple Arrests
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 28, 2020
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Scott Heins/Gothamist
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 28, 2020
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At least four people have been arrested at a heated protest in Union Square on Thursday evening, the latest in a string of nationwide demonstrations sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. [Update: You can read our full report on the protests here.]
Hundreds of people streamed into the Manhattan park on Thursday afternoon for the rally, where they were met with a massive and "aggressive" police presence, according to observers at the scene.
"It keeps flaring up. There's been about seven or eight arrests," photographer Dee Delgado told Gothamist. "I just witnessed an officer put his knee on somebody's neck."
According to a police scanner, one officer was struck with a garbage can, and suffered minor injuries.
Videos show protesters chanting "I Can't Breathe" — the final words of both Eric Garner and now Floyd, who died on Monday after a Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes.
That officer seen in that video and three others involved in the lethal stop have since been fired (by comparison, it took more than five years for Garner's killer, Daniel Pantaleo, to lose his job; none of the other officers involved in Garner's death faced discipline.)
The killing of Floyd has set off protests and riots — met with a heavy-handed police response — in Minneapolis over the last two nights. Other protests have since broken out in Los Angeles and Memphis. In a tweet on Thursday, NYPD Commissioner said that "what we saw in Minnesota was deeply disturbing," though it wasn't immediately clear if he was referring to the protests or Floyd's death. Separately, the NYPD's press office confirmed he was referring to Floyd's death, not the protests.
In addition to Thursday's protest, a "WE CAN’T BREATHE Rally + Vigil" is planned for Foley Square on Friday at 4 p.m., and another demonstration is being organized for Friday night outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Gatherings of more than ten people are still banned in New York City due to social distancing rules, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the NYPD will continue to enforce against large events. A spokesperson for the police department could not immediately provide the charges of the four people arrested.
According to Delgado, a majority of the protesters were wearing masks. As of 6 p.m., the demonstration appeared to be "escalating," he said.
Check back for updates.
With additional reporting from Emily Lang
Tagged
nypd
police brutality
union square
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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