Unrest spreads across US cities
TENSE protests over the death of George Floyd and other police killings of black men grew on Saturday from New York to Tulsa to Los Angeles, with police cars set ablaze and reports of injuries mounting on all sides as the country lurched towards another night of unrest after months of coronavirus lockdowns.
The protests, which began in Minneapolis following Floyd’s death last Monday after a police officer pressed a knee on his neck for more than eight minutes, have left parts of the city a grid of broken windows, burnt-out buildings and ransacked stores. The unrest has since become a national phenomenon as protesters decry years of deaths at police hands.
The large crowds involved, with many people not wearing masks or social distancing, raised concerns among health experts about the potential for helping spread the coronavirus at a time when overall deaths are on the decline nationwide and much of the country is in the process of reopening.
After a tumultuous Friday night, racially diverse crowds took to the streets again for mostly peaceful demonstrations in dozens of cities from coast to coast. The previous day’s protests also started calmly, but many descended into violence later in the day.
In Washington, growing crowds outside the White House chanted, taunted Secret
Service agents and at times pushed against security barriers. President Donald Trump, who spent much of Saturday in Florida for the SpaceX rocket launch, landed on the residence’s lawn in the presidential helicopter at dusk and went inside without speaking to journalists.
In Philadelphia, at least 13 officers were injured when peaceful protests turned violent
OUR COUNTRY HAS A SICKNESS. WE HAVE TO BE OUT HERE … THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE’RE GOING TO BE HEARD. PROTESTER BRIANNA PETRISKO
and at least four police vehicles were set on fire.
In New York City, video posted to social media showed officers using batons and shoving protesters down as they made arrests and cleared streets. Another video showed two NYPD cruisers driving into protesters who were pushing a barricade against a police car and pelting it with objects, knocking several to the ground.
“Our country has a sickness. We have to be out here,” said Brianna Petrisko, among those at lower Manhattan’s Foley Square, where most were wearing masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. “This is the only way we’re going to be heard.”