Cities under curfew as protests continue
Tense protests over the death of George Floyd and other police killings of black people grew yesterday from New York to Tulsa to Los Angeles, with police cars set ablaze and reports of injuries mounting on all sides.
The protests, which began in Minneapolis following Floyd’s death Monday after police officer Derek Chauvin pressed a knee on his neck until he stopped breathing, have left parts of the city a grid of broken windows, burned-out buildings and ransacked stores. The unrest has since become a national phenomenon as protesters decry years of deaths at police hands.
Tens of thousands of people were in the streets across the country, many of them not wearing masks or observing social distancing, raising concerns among health experts about the potential for spreading the coronavirus pandemic.
After a tumultuous Saturday, racially diverse crowds held mostly peaceful demonstrations in dozens of cities, though many later descended into violence.
Few corners of America were untouched, from protesters setting fires inside Reno’s city hall, to police launching tear gas at rock-throwing demonstrators in Fargo, North Dakota, to shattered windows at police headquarters in Richmond, Virginia.
— There were dozens of arrests, but no serious injuries early last night as protests broke out in the Minneapolis area, said the Minnesota Dept of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell.
— In Indianapolis, police were investigating ‘‘multiple shootings’’ downtown, including one that left a person dead, amid the protests.
— In Washington, the National Guard was deployed outside the White House, where chanting crowds taunted law enforcement officers. President Donald Trump had spent much of yesterday in Florida for the SpaceX rocket launch.
— In Philadelphia, at least 13 officers were injured and at least four police vehicles were set on fire. Other fires were set throughout downtown.
— In Salt Lake City, protesters defied a curfew and National Guard troops were deployed by Utah’s governor. Demonstrators flipped a police car and set it on fire. Police said six people were arrested and a police officer was injured after being struck with a baseball bat.
— In Los Angeles, protesters chanted ‘‘Black Lives Matter,’’ some within inches of the face shields of officers. Police used batons to move the crowd back and fired rubber bullets. A graffiticovered police car burned in the street.
— In New York City, confrontations flared repeatedly as officers made arrests and cleared streets. A video showed two NYPD cruisers lurching into a crowd of demonstrators who were pushing a barricade against one of them and pelting it with objects. It was unclear if anyone was hurt.
Not all protests devolved into violence. In Juneau, Alaska, law enforcement officers joined elected officials and residents at a peaceful protest in front of a giant whale sculpture on the city’s waterfront. ‘‘We don’t tolerate excessive use of force,’’ Juneau Police Chief Ed Mercer told the gathering.
Overnight curfews were imposed in more than a dozen major cities nationwide, including Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Seattle. More than 1300 people have been arrested in 16 cities since Friday, including over 500 on Saturday in Los Angeles.