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Live Updates on George Floyd Protests: A National Push for Sweeping Reforms Live Updates on George Floyd Protests: A National Push for Sweeping Reforms
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With memorials and demonstrations planned across the United States for the second consecutive weekend — and diverse crowds of tens of thousands marching shoulder to shoulder — a return to public life in the country has been as sudden as its closing down was three months ago. With memorials and demonstrations planned across the United States for the second consecutive weekend, Americans will again gather shoulder-to-shoulder by the hundreds and the thousands, as the nation grapples with a public health and economic crisis that has loomed heavily over the crowded gatherings.
But even as George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis last month has focused the nation’s attention on issues of systemic racism, police brutality and social inequality — and as the Trump administration’s response raised fears over the protection of basic constitutional rights — the coronavirus pandemic still loomed in the background. The risk of the coronavirus spreading at mass gatherings remains a real concern, public health experts say, but there were signs of slight improvements to the job market on Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May and the economy added 2.5 million jobs, the Labor Department announced, in an unexpected improvement that reflected limited business reopenings across the country.
On Friday, a monthly government jobs report is expected to show that employers shed another 8.5 million jobs in May, potentially bringing the unemployment rate as high as 20 percent. More than 40 million people have filed unemployment claims since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, reflecting the greatest shock to the U.S. economy since the Great Depression. The report noted that “employment rose sharply in leisure and hospitality, construction, education and health services, and retail trade,” even as jobs in the government continued their decline.
And the economic crisis, like the public health crisis, has taken a disproportionately large toll on blacks and other minorities. Black people in the country are subject to what some economists call a “first fired, last hired” phenomenon: They lose work early, and their unemployment rate continues to rise even as the labor market for white workers begins to recover. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II.
That reality was reflected at a memorial for Mr. Floyd on Thursday in Minneapolis, where speakers removed their masks to reflect both on the life of the man whose death energized a national movement and on deeper social issues that have persisted for generations. The economic crisis has converged with a public health crisis and years of systemic racism that have taken disproportionately large tolls on African-Americans. That reality was reflected in a memorial for George Floyd in Minneapolis on Thursday, as speakers recalled a father and community member who had been infected by the coronavirus, had been looking for new work after the restaurant where he worked as a bouncer closed to on-site dining and died in the custody of the Minneapolis police.
“It was not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd,” said Benjamin Crump, the civil rights lawyer who represents the Floyd family. “It was that other pandemic we’re all too familiar with in America — it was that pandemic of racism and discrimination that killed George Floyd.”“It was not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd,” said Benjamin Crump, the civil rights lawyer who represents the Floyd family. “It was that other pandemic we’re all too familiar with in America — it was that pandemic of racism and discrimination that killed George Floyd.”
That message was also carried by demonstrators who again took to the streets from Seattle to New York City.That message was also carried by demonstrators who again took to the streets from Seattle to New York City.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered a eulogy for Mr. Floyd, pledged that his death would be a catalyst for change, after a video showed a white police officer kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes as he lay face down and handcuffed on the pavement, saying, “I can’t breathe.”The Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered a eulogy for Mr. Floyd, pledged that his death would be a catalyst for change, after a video showed a white police officer kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes as he lay face down and handcuffed on the pavement, saying, “I can’t breathe.”
The protests, Mr. Sharpton said, have a straightforward symbolic message: “Get your knee off our necks.”The protests, Mr. Sharpton said, have a straightforward symbolic message: “Get your knee off our necks.”
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. told a group of black supporters on Thursday night that most Americans are good people who think the nation can be improved, but also that “there are probably anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the people out there that are just not very good people.”
“The words a president says matter, so when a president stands up and divides people all the time, you’re going to get the worst of us to come out,” Mr. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, said during an online round table hosted by the actor Don Cheadle.
“Do we really think this is as good as we can be as a nation?” Mr. Biden said. “I don’t think the vast majority of people think that.”
Several times in the 70-minute conversation, he acknowledged that he did not know what it was like to be discriminated against on the basis of race and that his election alone would not guarantee an end to systemic racism.
“Hate didn’t begin with Donald Trump. It’s not going to end with him,” Mr. Biden said. “The history of our country is not a fairy tale. It doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. But, as I said earlier, we’re in a battle for the soul of this country. It’s been a constant push and pull for the last 200 years.”
He also said he had misjudged the amount of progress the nation had made on race with the election of President Barack Obama.
“I thought we had made enormous progress when we elected an African-American president,” Mr. Biden said. “I thought you could defeat hate, you could kill hate. But the point is, you can’t. Hate only hides, and if you breathe any oxygen into that hate, it comes alive again.”
Two police officers in Buffalo, N.Y., have been suspended without pay after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old protester, who was hospitalized with a head injury, the authorities said.Two police officers in Buffalo, N.Y., have been suspended without pay after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old protester, who was hospitalized with a head injury, the authorities said.
The video, taken by WBFO, a local radio station, shows the man approaching a group of officers on Thursday during a demonstration stemming from the death of George Floyd. After the man stops in front of them to talk, an officer yells, “Push him back” three times. One officer then pushes his arm into the man’s chest and another extends his baton toward the man with both hands.The video, taken by WBFO, a local radio station, shows the man approaching a group of officers on Thursday during a demonstration stemming from the death of George Floyd. After the man stops in front of them to talk, an officer yells, “Push him back” three times. One officer then pushes his arm into the man’s chest and another extends his baton toward the man with both hands.
The man is next seen flailing backward, landing just out of the camera’s range, with blood leaking from his right ear. The video shows an officer leaning down to examine him, but another officer pulls the first officer away. Several other officers are seen walking by the man, who is motionless on the ground, without checking on him.The man is next seen flailing backward, landing just out of the camera’s range, with blood leaking from his right ear. The video shows an officer leaning down to examine him, but another officer pulls the first officer away. Several other officers are seen walking by the man, who is motionless on the ground, without checking on him.
Mayor Byron Brown said on Thursday night that the man was in serious but stable condition.Mayor Byron Brown said on Thursday night that the man was in serious but stable condition.
The images, which rapidly spread across social media, added to a growing number of videos from across the nation showing officers responding to protests against police violence with more police violence. Anger among supporters of the protests was heightened by the police department’s initial claim that the man “tripped and fell,” a description at direct odds with the video.The images, which rapidly spread across social media, added to a growing number of videos from across the nation showing officers responding to protests against police violence with more police violence. Anger among supporters of the protests was heightened by the police department’s initial claim that the man “tripped and fell,” a description at direct odds with the video.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York condemned the officers’ actions in a statement late Thursday.Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York condemned the officers’ actions in a statement late Thursday.
“The incident in Buffalo is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful,” he said. “I’ve spoken with City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended. Police officers must enforce — NOT ABUSE — the law.”“The incident in Buffalo is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful,” he said. “I’ve spoken with City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended. Police officers must enforce — NOT ABUSE — the law.”
“It sickens me,” the Erie County executive, Mark Poloncarz, wrote on Twitter about the incident. Amid a protest movement ignited by a video showing police brutality — a police officer pressing his knee against the neck of George Floyd for nearly nine minutes — hundreds of other incidents and videos are documenting cases of violent police tactics in the United States.
They are often captured by bystanders and sometimes on live television. A compilation posted on Twitter by a North Carolina lawyer included over 300 clips by Friday morning. They have occurred in cities large and small, in the heat of mass protests and in their quiet aftermath.
In California, an officer in a police car fatally shot a 22-year-old man who was on his knees with his hands up. In Texas, officers in Austin shot a 20-year-old protester in the head with nonlethal beanbag ammunition while aiming at someone else. He was left with brain damage and a fractured skull.
In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., reporters from The Miami Herald filmed officers shooting a nonviolent protester in the head with foam rubber bullets, fracturing her eye socket and leaving her screaming and bloody. In Kansas City, Mo., the police walked onto a sidewalk to use pepper spray on protesters who were yelling at them.
To those protesting police brutality, the episodes are stark proof that officers too willingly use excessive force. Experts on policing say that many of the videos show abrupt escalation on the part of law enforcement that is difficult to justify.
“It feels like the police are being challenged in ways that they haven’t been challenged in some time,” said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit group. “They are responding, and sometimes that response is totally inappropriate.”
A woman who witnessed the arrest of Manuel Ellis, a black man in Tacoma, Wash., called on the police to “stop hitting him” after they wrestled Mr. Ellis to the ground, according to a video of the arrest.
Mr. Ellis died in the minutes following his arrest in March after pleading, “I can’t breathe” — an eerie echo of some of the final words from other black men who have died in police custody, including Eric Garner and George Floyd.
The woman captured video clips showing brief portions of the arrest of Mr. Ellis, 33, including punches that officers threw while he was on the ground. She was in her car and had pulled up right behind the police vehicle on the southern edge of Tacoma late on the night of March 3.
After the videos were posted online, Tacoma’s mayor, Victoria Woodards, released a video message late Wednesday night saying she was enraged by what she saw and was directing the city manager to fire each officer involved.
“The officers who committed this crime should be fired and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Ms. Woodards said.
The first video captured by the witness begins in the middle of the encounter, showing both officers standing, right as they took Mr. Ellis to the ground on the road in front of some garbage cans. With Mr. Ellis on his back, one of the officers got down on his knees and began punching Mr. Ellis.
“Stop. Oh my god, stop hitting him. Just arrest him,” the witness called out in the video.
In a later clip, as she drove past the scene, video showed the officers asking Mr. Ellis to put his hands behind his back. The officers appeared to have Mr. Ellis subdued and on his side.
Detective Ed Troyer of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, which is handling the investigation, said Mr. Ellis at one point called out “I can’t breathe,” and the officers called for medical support
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. told a group of black supporters on Thursday night that most Americans are good people who think the nation can be improved, but also that “there are probably anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the people out there that are just not very good people.”
“The words a president says matter, so when a president stands up and divides people all the time, you’re going to get the worst of us to come out,” Mr. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, said during an online round table hosted by the actor Don Cheadle.
“Do we really think this is as good as we can be as a nation?” Mr. Biden said. “I don’t think the vast majority of people think that.”
Several times in the 70-minute conversation, he acknowledged that he did not know what it was like to be discriminated against on the basis of race and that his election alone would not guarantee an end to systemic racism.
“Hate didn’t begin with Donald Trump. It’s not going to end with him,” Mr. Biden said. “The history of our country is not a fairy tale. It doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. But, as I said earlier, we’re in a battle for the soul of this country. It’s been a constant push and pull for the last 200 years.”
He also said he had misjudged the amount of progress the nation had made on race with the election of President Barack Obama.
“I thought we had made enormous progress when we elected an African-American president,” Mr. Biden said. “I thought you could defeat hate, you could kill hate. But the point is, you can’t. Hate only hides, and if you breathe any oxygen into that hate, it comes alive again.”
As a spring storm tore through Washington, well over 100 protesters chanted at the mouth of Lafayette Square near the White House: “We’re not leaving.”As a spring storm tore through Washington, well over 100 protesters chanted at the mouth of Lafayette Square near the White House: “We’re not leaving.”
With inclement weather and no curfew, the crowd was markedly smaller than in previous days. The security perimeter had shrunk, too, once more behind the new chain-link fence in front of the square.With inclement weather and no curfew, the crowd was markedly smaller than in previous days. The security perimeter had shrunk, too, once more behind the new chain-link fence in front of the square.
Many in the crowd were soaked through. A small group hunkered down beneath the portico at the Hay-Adams hotel waiting for the rain, driving in sheets sideways, to pass. Supporters handed out snacks. A sign reading “Ask me for mask” in black marker lay trampled over and wet on the sidewalk.Many in the crowd were soaked through. A small group hunkered down beneath the portico at the Hay-Adams hotel waiting for the rain, driving in sheets sideways, to pass. Supporters handed out snacks. A sign reading “Ask me for mask” in black marker lay trampled over and wet on the sidewalk.
At one moment, a flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder eclipsed the hubbub of the protesters. It almost seemed as if the bolt had struck the White House grounds.At one moment, a flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder eclipsed the hubbub of the protesters. It almost seemed as if the bolt had struck the White House grounds.
The stadium lights, planted before the line of riot police officers, flickered. The protesters erupted into applause as if the heavens had picked a side: theirs.The stadium lights, planted before the line of riot police officers, flickered. The protesters erupted into applause as if the heavens had picked a side: theirs.
The largest protests in the San Francisco Bay Area have been led by high school and college students.The largest protests in the San Francisco Bay Area have been led by high school and college students.
Simone Jacques, a 17-year-old resident of San Francisco’s Mission district, was the main organizer of a protest on Wednesday that drew a crowd of several thousand. Across the Bay, in Oakland, the largest protest was organized by two native Oaklanders who had returned home from college.Simone Jacques, a 17-year-old resident of San Francisco’s Mission district, was the main organizer of a protest on Wednesday that drew a crowd of several thousand. Across the Bay, in Oakland, the largest protest was organized by two native Oaklanders who had returned home from college.
On Wednesday night, Jadyn Polk, 14, cheered as speaker after speaker stood up to demand the defunding of the Oakland police force.On Wednesday night, Jadyn Polk, 14, cheered as speaker after speaker stood up to demand the defunding of the Oakland police force.
“I will continue to stay in these streets regardless of how long it takes,” Jadyn said.“I will continue to stay in these streets regardless of how long it takes,” Jadyn said.
For more than two hours, a group of at least 1,000 protesters weaved through the streets of Brooklyn.For more than two hours, a group of at least 1,000 protesters weaved through the streets of Brooklyn.
“If these are our streets, we walkin’ the whole streets,” a protester screamed into a megaphone as the crowd departed from Barclays Center around 8 p.m. “They’re not cornering us tonight.”“If these are our streets, we walkin’ the whole streets,” a protester screamed into a megaphone as the crowd departed from Barclays Center around 8 p.m. “They’re not cornering us tonight.”
Police officers trailed behind protesters until around 10 p.m. when they turned onto Washington Avenue, where they were met with a wall of officers blocking Atlantic Avenue. As the crowd was surrounded, the police began funneling small groups away from the crowd on either side.Police officers trailed behind protesters until around 10 p.m. when they turned onto Washington Avenue, where they were met with a wall of officers blocking Atlantic Avenue. As the crowd was surrounded, the police began funneling small groups away from the crowd on either side.
“Get home safe,” protesters told one another as they headed home.“Get home safe,” protesters told one another as they headed home.
“Tomorrow,” others encouraged as the crowd dwindled.“Tomorrow,” others encouraged as the crowd dwindled.
Amid a protest movement ignited by a video showing police brutality — a police officer pressing his knee against the neck of George Floyd for nearly nine minutes — hundreds of other incidents and videos are documenting cases of violent police tactics in the United States.
They are often captured by bystanders and sometimes on live television — a compilation posted on Twitter by a North Carolina lawyer included over 300 clips by Friday morning. And they have occurred in cities large and small, in the heat of mass protests and in their quiet aftermath.
In California, an officer in a police car fatally shot a 22-year-old man who was on his knees with his hands up. In Texas, officers in Austin shot a 20-year-old protester in the head with nonlethal beanbag ammunition while aiming at someone else. He was left with brain damage and a fractured skull.
In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., reporters from The Miami Herald filmed officers shooting a nonviolent protester in the head with foam rubber bullets, fracturing her eye socket and leaving her screaming and bloody. In Kansas City, Mo., the police walked onto a sidewalk to use pepper spray on protesters who were yelling at them.
To those protesting police brutality, the episodes are stark proof that officers too willingly use excessive force. Experts on policing say that many of the videos show abrupt escalation on the part of law enforcement that is difficult to justify.
“It feels like the police are being challenged in ways that they haven’t been challenged in some time,” said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit group. “They are responding, and sometimes that response is totally inappropriate.”
President Trump moved on Thursday to begin sending home 82nd Airborne Division troops that he had ordered to Washington, amid a standoff with the Pentagon over the role of the armed forces in quelling protests that have broken out across the nation.President Trump moved on Thursday to begin sending home 82nd Airborne Division troops that he had ordered to Washington, amid a standoff with the Pentagon over the role of the armed forces in quelling protests that have broken out across the nation.
None of the active-duty forces had deployed in Washington, instead remaining on alert outside the city while National Guard troops took up position near the White House and elsewhere in the capital. But they became caught up in a confrontation pitting a commander in chief aiming to show strength in the face of street protests versus a military command resistant to being drawn into domestic law enforcement or election-year politics.None of the active-duty forces had deployed in Washington, instead remaining on alert outside the city while National Guard troops took up position near the White House and elsewhere in the capital. But they became caught up in a confrontation pitting a commander in chief aiming to show strength in the face of street protests versus a military command resistant to being drawn into domestic law enforcement or election-year politics.
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper initially tried to send home a small portion of the 1,600 active-duty troops on Wednesday, only to have Mr. Trump order him to reverse course. The president acquiesced on Thursday, however, according to an administration official who asked not to be named discussing internal deliberations, though it did not appear that the two men had spoken directly.Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper initially tried to send home a small portion of the 1,600 active-duty troops on Wednesday, only to have Mr. Trump order him to reverse course. The president acquiesced on Thursday, however, according to an administration official who asked not to be named discussing internal deliberations, though it did not appear that the two men had spoken directly.
Mr. Esper ordered 700 airborne soldiers to return to Fort Bragg, N.C., by evening and a Pentagon official said the remaining 900 soldiers from the division and a military police unit from Fort Drum, N.Y., could begin withdrawing as early as Friday. More than 2,000 National Guard forces remain in Washington, a number that is set to climb to 4,500.Mr. Esper ordered 700 airborne soldiers to return to Fort Bragg, N.C., by evening and a Pentagon official said the remaining 900 soldiers from the division and a military police unit from Fort Drum, N.Y., could begin withdrawing as early as Friday. More than 2,000 National Guard forces remain in Washington, a number that is set to climb to 4,500.
Yet what appeared to be an uneasy truce did not mean the conflict was over. While Mr. Trump’s advisers counseled him not to fire Mr. Esper, the president spent much of the day privately railing about the defense secretary, who along with Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed the president’s desire to send regular troops into the nation’s cities.Yet what appeared to be an uneasy truce did not mean the conflict was over. While Mr. Trump’s advisers counseled him not to fire Mr. Esper, the president spent much of the day privately railing about the defense secretary, who along with Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed the president’s desire to send regular troops into the nation’s cities.
When George Floyd heard banging on the car window, he was startled but was careful not to overreact.When George Floyd heard banging on the car window, he was startled but was careful not to overreact.
“What do you want me to do, officer?” he said calmly, according to a friend who was sitting in the passenger seat of his car on May 25 as the fatal encounter with the police began.“What do you want me to do, officer?” he said calmly, according to a friend who was sitting in the passenger seat of his car on May 25 as the fatal encounter with the police began.
The officer answered, “Show me your hands.”The officer answered, “Show me your hands.”
The friend, Maurice Hall, said he had observed Mr. Floyd interact with police officers before. Known as a “gentle giant,” Mr. Floyd was typically able to defuse the situation, Mr. Hall said in an interview with Erica L. Green on Wednesday. This time seemed to be different.The friend, Maurice Hall, said he had observed Mr. Floyd interact with police officers before. Known as a “gentle giant,” Mr. Floyd was typically able to defuse the situation, Mr. Hall said in an interview with Erica L. Green on Wednesday. This time seemed to be different.
“When they approached, they approached with aggression,” Mr. Hall said of the Minneapolis police officers. He was interviewed this week by Minnesota investigators as a key witness in the state’s case against the four officers charged in Mr. Floyd’s death.“When they approached, they approached with aggression,” Mr. Hall said of the Minneapolis police officers. He was interviewed this week by Minnesota investigators as a key witness in the state’s case against the four officers charged in Mr. Floyd’s death.
Mr. Hall said he and Mr. Floyd had been in the car shortly after they left a store — where Mr. Floyd was accused of paying for merchandise with a counterfeit $20 bill — when two officers approached, one on each side of the car.Mr. Hall said he and Mr. Floyd had been in the car shortly after they left a store — where Mr. Floyd was accused of paying for merchandise with a counterfeit $20 bill — when two officers approached, one on each side of the car.
Mr. Floyd complied with an instruction to show his hands, Mr. Hall said, but an officer started reaching into the car to grab them, prompting Mr. Floyd to ask why.Mr. Floyd complied with an instruction to show his hands, Mr. Hall said, but an officer started reaching into the car to grab them, prompting Mr. Floyd to ask why.
“Now what are you doing that for?” Mr. Hall recalled Mr. Floyd saying. “You asked to see my hands.”“Now what are you doing that for?” Mr. Hall recalled Mr. Floyd saying. “You asked to see my hands.”
The officer who was on Mr. Hall’s side of the car quickly made his way to Mr. Floyd’s side. “Floyd was not fighting — he’s just shifting from them tussling on him,” Mr. Hall said.The officer who was on Mr. Hall’s side of the car quickly made his way to Mr. Floyd’s side. “Floyd was not fighting — he’s just shifting from them tussling on him,” Mr. Hall said.
He said he could hear his friend’s cries during the arrest: “Please, officer. I’ve been shot before.” From across the street, he could see his friend’s feet squirming.He said he could hear his friend’s cries during the arrest: “Please, officer. I’ve been shot before.” From across the street, he could see his friend’s feet squirming.
“He was just crying out at that time for anyone to help,” Mr. Hall said, “because he was dying.”“He was just crying out at that time for anyone to help,” Mr. Hall said, “because he was dying.”
Reporting was contributed by Mike Baker, Peter Baker, Kim Barker, Katie Benner, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Julie Bosman, Julia Carmel, Emily Cochrane, Nick Corasaniti, Michael Crowley, Elizabeth Dias, John Eligon, Reid J. Epstein, Tess Felder, Thomas Fuller, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Erica L. Green, Shawn Hubler, Katie Glueck, Marc Santora, Anna Schaverien, Eric Schmitt, Neil Vigdor and Daniel Victor.Reporting was contributed by Mike Baker, Peter Baker, Kim Barker, Katie Benner, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Julie Bosman, Julia Carmel, Emily Cochrane, Nick Corasaniti, Michael Crowley, Elizabeth Dias, John Eligon, Reid J. Epstein, Tess Felder, Thomas Fuller, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Erica L. Green, Shawn Hubler, Katie Glueck, Marc Santora, Anna Schaverien, Eric Schmitt, Neil Vigdor and Daniel Victor.