Cities lift curfews as demonstrators rally for reforms
NEW YORK — With New York City poised to reopen after a more than twomonth coronavirus shutdown, officials on Sunday lifted a curfew that was in place amid protests of police brutality and racial injustice. But they also urged that demonstrators be tested for COVID19.
“Get a test. Get a test,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo told people who have been participating in rallies and marches in memory of George Floyd. “I would act as if you were exposed, and I would tell people you are interacting with, assume I am positive for the virus.”
New York has been the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, with black communities hit especially hard.
The Rev. Brandon Watts of Epiphany Church in Brooklyn, was mindful of the pandemic while organizing a “Pray &
Protest” march with several other churches. He mandated that protesters wear masks, and he came with boxes of them. Attendees also were offered free coronavirus tests at one church.
“COVID19 hit the inner city harder than anybody else,” Watts said. “And so we have to be very careful. We’re the only ones in a pandemic within a pandemic.”
In addition to suffering disproportionately from the the virus, the black community also has been roiled by the death of Floyd, a black man who died after a white officer pressed a knee into his neck while arresting him.
Floyd’s death sparked huge protests throughout the country and renewed calls to reform policing in America. A majority of the City Council in Minneapolis, where Floyd died, said Sunday they support disbanding the Police Department. A heavyhanded police response to protesters in many places has underscored what critics have maintained: Law enforcement is militarized and too often uses excessive force.
Cities imposed curfews as several protests last week were marred by spasms of arson, assaults and smashandgrab raids on businesses. More than 10,000 people have been arrested around the country since protests began, sometimes after violent confrontations with officers. Videos have surfaced of officers in riot gear using tear gas or physical force against even peaceful demonstrators.
But recent U.S. protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful — and over the weekend, several police departments appeared to retreat from aggressive tactics.
Several cities have also lifted their curfews, including Chicago and New York City, which is preparing to enter its first phase of reopening after virus shutdowns. Up to 400,000 people are expected to head back to the workplace Monday.
“Last night was the best by far,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday. “We had the biggest number of protesters, the fewest arrests, the fewest problems, and that convinced me it was time for the curfew to go away.”
Rallies resumed across the country Sunday. In Los Angeles, thousands of protesters marched through Hollywood. In New York, police moved the barricades at the Trump hotel at Columbus Circle in Manhattan for protesters and replaced them when they passed through the area.
De Blasio said police had arrested just four people and issued 24 court summonses Saturday — in stark contrast to more than 2,000 arrests made through Friday morning.
In Washington, National Guard troops from South Carolina were seen checking out of their hotel Sunday shortly before President Trump tweeted he was giving the order to withdraw them from the nation’s capital.
At the newly renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House, protesters posed with the street sign and the yellow block lettering painted on the pavement by the city.
Floyd’s body arrived in Texas for a third and final memorial service, said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo. A viewing is planned for Monday, followed by a service and burial Tuesday in suburban Pearland.