6 officers in Atlanta now face charges
Atlanta police officers seen on video forcefully pulling two young people out of their cars during Saturday protests have been charged, mostly with aggravated assault.
Two of the officers, Ivory Streeter and Mark Gardner, were fired Sunday. The incident was caught on body cam video and denounced by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Messiah Young and his girlfriend Taniyah Pilgrim were caught in traffic when they were approached by the officers yelling commands. The couple can be heard screaming and asking what is happening.
Some of the officers are also charged with criminal damage to property and pointing or aiming a gun.
Florida officer put on leave
A video that surfaced Monday shows a Sarasota policeman kneeling on a man’s back and neck while he was arrested in May. It prompted Police Chief Bernadette DiPino, who 48 hours earlier condemned the tactic, to put the officer on administrative leave.
“Chief DiPino was disturbed to see an officer kneeling on the head and neck of an individual in the video,” the department said in a statement. “While it appears the officer eventually moves his leg to the individual’s back, this tactic is not taught, used or advocated by our agency.”
The man, who allegedly was involved in a fight with a woman, did not require medical attention.
New York City gets earlier curfew
New York City imposed an 8 p.m. curfew for the rest of the week after violent protests Monday led to more than 700 arrests. Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed Tuesday to halt looting and violence, saying an 11 p.m. curfew failed to quell the situation. Looting spread across the boroughs and in midtown Manhattan, where store windows were smashed, goods stolen and fights broke out.
‘Blackout Tuesday’
The music industry took a break from business-as-usual to mark Blackout Tuesday to call attention to the deaths of black Americans. Katy Perry, Kylie Jenner, Kevin Hart and Timothee Chalamet showed support using hashtags #blackouttuesday and #theshowmustbepaused to draw attention to the effort.
Reporters arrested across US
Journalists including several from the USA TODAY Network have been detained while covering demonstrations.
Asbury Park (N.J.) Press reporter Gustavo Martínez Contreras was arrested when police moved to clear streets. He was released early Tuesday. Delaware News Journal reporter Jeff Neiburg and video strategist Jenna Miller were covering protests in Philadelphia when they were detained for about two hours, despite showing credentials. And Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Patrick Brennan was detained while covering protests, even as media were exempt from a curfew. Cincinnati Police apologized.
Sunday, Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri was pepper sprayed and arrested while covering a demonstration at a mall that turned violent.