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Photos: 72 Arrested At George Floyd Protests In Lower Manhattan
By
Gwynne Hogan
,
Scott Heins
and
Christopher Robbins
Published May 29, 2020
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David 'Dee' Delgado / Gothamist
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By
Gwynne Hogan
,
Scott Heins
and
Christopher Robbins
Published May 29, 2020
Share
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At least 72 New Yorkers were arrested in Lower Manhattan on Thursday evening as they protested the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Aiden Smith, 34, explained to Gothamist why he ignored the guidance to stay-at-home during a pandemic.
“Because I'm a black man living in America," Smith said. "Why can't we just live our life, the way we want to live our life, and take care of our kids, without being judged and being picked on and bullied and being shot at and being killed?"
At a news appearance on Friday morning, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said that five of those arrested were charged with felony assault of an officer, 33 were charged with various misdemeanors, and 34 were charged with "various violations."
"Our goal was just to take the troublemakers," Monahan said. "This group was bent on fighting the police."
Chief Monahan claimed that two officers suffered concussions, one after being hit with a garbage can, and another who was thrown to the ground.
"We've been through this before," Monahan said, referring to the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of a Staten Island grand jury's decision to not indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo for fatally choking Eric Garner.
"The vast majority of people are out there to express their views."
After police broke up the larger crowd at Union Square, smaller groups marched down Lafayette Street and congregated on the steps of the Tweed Courthouse near City Hall. There, some 100 or so demonstrates were met by dozens of police officers behind a wall of motorcycles. With the protesters essentially kettled, tensions rose. Someone threw two plastic water bottles, and police began seizing people out of the crowd to arrest them.
Some of the protesters who were arrested appeared to be young teenagers. An NYPD spokesperson could not provide the ages or names of those arrested.
Nicole, a 20-year-old from Fort Greene Brooklyn, said she was out protesting because "my brother could be dead right now, the way these cops are moving."
She added, "I'm sick of always having to be scared for my dad's life, my brother's life, my friends' lives, everyone that I care about."
Other protests against police brutality are scheduled for Friday at Foley Square at 4 p.m., and Brooklyn's Barclays Center at 6 p.m.
Carlos Hernandez, a 27-year-old political science student, added, “The slave labor and lynching is supposed to be over—it’s never been over. If people don't go to the streets and they don’t go to protest asking for justice, that will never stop."
Additional reporting from Andy Mai.
Tagged
protest
black lives matter
George Floyd
Gwynne Hogan
Gwynne Hogan is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Scott Heins
Scott Heins is a freelance photo and video journalist based in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Gothamist + WNYC. His work often centers around labor rights, housing, and policing. In 2018-2019 he traveled to four states while covering a wave of public school teachers strikes, with work featured in The New York Times, The Intercept, Getty Images, Splinter, and Bloomberg Photos. Scott is a dues-paying member of the National Writers Union's Freelance Solidarity Project.
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Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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