Democratic US politicians urge police reform; protesters march for 11th day
Minneapolis, California bar police from using neck restraints
WASHINGTON: Prominent Democratic politicians on Friday embraced the cause of US protesters angered by the death of a black man in Minneapolis police custody, adopting their slogans and announcing reforms as tensions remained high in major cities. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has sparred with US President Donald Trump over his sometimes heavy-handed response to the rallies and marches in the nation’s capital, had the slogan “Black Lives Matter” painted in massive yellow letters on a street leading to the White House.
In Minneapolis, where 46-year-old George Floyd died on May 25 after a police officer pinned him to the ground with a knee to the neck for nearly nine minutes, Democratic city leaders voted to end the use of knee restraints and choke holds, although the ordinance must be approved by a judge. Separate autopsies conducted by the Hennepin County Medical examiner and a team hired by Floyd’s family each found that he died from asphyxiation.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said he would bar a state police training agency from teaching a restraint technique, sometimes called a “sleeper hold,” that involves restricting the carotid artery in the neck. And in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state should lead the way in passing “Say Their Name” reforms, including making police disciplinary records publicly available and banning chokeholds. “Mr Floyd’s murder was the breaking point,” Cuomo, also a Democrat, said in a statement.
“People are saying enough is enough, we must change.”
Amid accusations across the country of police use of excessive force during the 11 days of protests, a federal judge in Denver ordered city police to stop deploying tear gas, plastic bullets and other “less-than-lethal” devices such as flash grenades. The temporary injunction was in response to a lawsuit filed by protesters. A spokesman for the Denver Police Department said the force would comply with the order. National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell, in a videotaped message, said the NFL had made mistakes in not listening to players and it would now “encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.”
The NFL, ranked as America’s most popular professional league in polls and television ratings, has been locked in a debate with players over kneeling protests during the national anthem before games, a practice made popular by quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is black, in 2016 to protest against racial injustice and police brutality. Trump, who derided the kneeling players as “sons of bitches” in 2017, criticized their actions again on Twitter earlier on Friday.
NFL apologizes for failing to support protests
Officers suspended
Black Lives Matter activists have also called for cities to defund police departments. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat who in April proposed increasing law enforcement funding, this week reversed course and said he would seek some $150 million in cuts to the Los Angeles Police Department.
After video footage from upstate New York raised further questions about the handling of demonstrators by law enforcement, two Buffalo police officers seen on Thursday shoving a 75-year-old protester to the ground were suspended and placed under investigation. All 57 members of a police tactical unit quit the unit to protest their treatment, media said. Protests over the death of Floyd have rocked cities including Atlanta, Denver, Detroit as well as many smaller communities.
The demonstrations have erupted as the public and businesses struggle to recover from sweeping lockdowns imposed to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Disease experts have said the protests could spark new outbreaks. On Friday, marches and gatherings took place in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Miami, New York and Denver, among other places. Protesters also massed again in the rain in front of the White House. The nighttime protests were largely peaceful. — Reuters