George Floyd protest
photo via @ailynash

NYC implementing a curfew following protests

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After days of protests across the country against the death of George Floyd, police brutality, and systemic racism, some cities have put curfews into place, and NYC will be joining them. New York Times reports that Governor Andrew Cuomo said a curfew would go into effect tonight, Monday, June 1 at 11 PM ET, and run until 5 AM ET. Whether it would continue Tuesday has not been decided yet.

“In New York City, I spoke with the mayor, there’s going to be a curfew in New York City that we think could be helpful,” Cuomo said. “More importantly, there is going to be an increase in the force. There were about 4,000 officers on duty last night. There’ll be double that tonight, about 8,000.”

A press release from his office reads:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio today announced a citywide curfew in New York City will take effect beginning at 11 PM tonight and will be lifted at 5 AM tomorrow morning.

The Governor and the Mayor also announced that the New York City Police Department will double its police presence to help prevent violence and property damage. The additional officers will be deployed to areas where violence and property damage occurred during last night’s protests – specifically in lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn.

The Governor and the Mayor also reminded New Yorkers participating in protests to take proper health precautions and wear face coverings while we continue to fight the COVID-19 virus.

“I stand behind the protestors and their message, but unfortunately there are people who are looking to distract and discredit this moment,” Governor Cuomo sad. “The violence and the looting has been bad for the city, the state and this entire national movement, undermining and distracting from their righteous cause. While we encourage people to protest peacefully and make their voiices heard, the safety of the general public is paramount and cannot be compromised. Tonight the Mayor and I are implementing a citywide curfew starting at 11 PM and doubling the NYPD presence across the city.

“I support and protect peaceful protest in this city. The demonstrations we’ve seen have been generally peaceful. We can’t let violence undermine the message of this moment. It is too important and the message must be heard. Tonight, to protect against violence and property damage, the Governor and I have decided to implement a citywide curfew,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “The Police Commissioner and I have spoken at length about the incidents we’ve all seen in recent days where officers didn’t uphold the values of this city or the NYPD. We agree on the need for swift action. He will speak later today on how officers will be held accountable.”

NYPD were captured on video driving SUVs into a crowd of protestors in Brooklyn. Asked about the horrifying incident in an interview with NY1 on Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “It is a troubling video, and I wish the officers hadn’t done that, but they were being surrounded by people who were attacking that vehicle and they were in a situation where it was getting more and more dangerous, and they had to get out of there. If those protesters had just gotten out of the way and not created an attempt to surround that vehicle, we would not be talking about this situation.”