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| De Blasio Defends Protest Policing, but Vows to Punish Some Officers: Live Updates | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| After several days of reports of police using unnecessary force against peaceful protesters, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday that disciplinary action, including suspensions, would soon be announced against some officers. | |
| “The people of the city need to see that when an officer does something wrong, it is investigated,” he said at a news briefing. “If it’s found to be true that something wrong was done, there must be consequences and they must be swift.” | |
| But Mr. de Blasio also defended the police’s actions in enforcing a citywide curfew despite photos and videos showing some officers employing aggressive tactics to break up the largely peaceful protests when they continued past the 8 p.m. cutoff. | |
| “What I saw overwhelmingly, and have continued to see, is peaceful protest being respected on both sides,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news briefing. | “What I saw overwhelmingly, and have continued to see, is peaceful protest being respected on both sides,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news briefing. |
| The mayor pledged to review reports of officers acting inappropriately, the morning after New York City was once again the scene of widespread protests touched off by the killing in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis. | |
| Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, and the Manhattan and Brooklyn district attorneys are also investigating potential acts of police misconduct during the protests. | |
| Mr. de Blasio said that his daughter, Chiara, who was arrested during the protests, had described seeing officers without body cameras turned on and that he was concerned about reports that officers were covering their names and badge numbers. | |
| The curfew was imposed after some people in the streets amid the protests looted stores in parts of Manhattan and the Bronx on Sunday. It started at 11 p.m. on Monday, was moved up three hours after another night of lawless behavior and is set to end after Sunday night. | |
| Mr. de Blasio has faced criticism all week for defending officers’ action, and some elected officials have called for an end to the curfew. | |
| The mayor was jeered on Thursday when he tried to speak a memorial for Mr. Floyd in Brooklyn. Nonetheless, he has continued to defend the police, and said on Friday that the curfew will remain in effect until Monday morning, when the city is set to begin to reopen after a lengthy shutdown prompted by the coronavirus outbreak. | |
| “We’ve had three very good nights after two very bad nights,” the mayor said. “My plan is still my plan to ensure that we have peaceful dynamics over the next days.” | “We’ve had three very good nights after two very bad nights,” the mayor said. “My plan is still my plan to ensure that we have peaceful dynamics over the next days.” |
| Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Friday that he supported the decision of the mayor and police to keep the curfew in place despite the police’s aggressive tactics. | Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Friday that he supported the decision of the mayor and police to keep the curfew in place despite the police’s aggressive tactics. |
| “The situation we were in in New York City was much worse, and what we have seen over the past couple of days is better,” Mr. Cuomo said. | “The situation we were in in New York City was much worse, and what we have seen over the past couple of days is better,” Mr. Cuomo said. |
| The episodes that Mr. de Blasio and Dermot F. Shea, the police commissioner, are facing questions about include one on Thursday night in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, during which officers shoved protesters onto sidewalks. | |
| Mr. Shea said the police were responding to tips that so-called outside agitators and protesters planned to destroy property. Officers recovered gasoline, firearms and numerous weapons, he said. | |
| “In this particular incident, we had intervention regarding the attempt to destroy property, to injure our cops, to cause mayhem,” Mr. Shea said. | “In this particular incident, we had intervention regarding the attempt to destroy property, to injure our cops, to cause mayhem,” Mr. Shea said. |
| Mr. de Blasio said he was troubled by reports that essential workers, including journalists, had been arrested after the curfew took effect. One video that was widely shared online showed officers arresting a food-delivery worker Thursday night. Such workers have been classified as essential. | |
| “Essential workers are essential workers,” the mayor said. “Any essential worker doing their job is exempted from the curfew.” | |
| District attorneys in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx will not prosecute people accused of low-level offenses after being arrested amid the protests against police brutality and systemic racism that entered their second week in New York City on Friday. | |
| Since last week, more than 2,000 people have been arrested in the city on charges like disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, unlawful assembly, assault on a police officer and burglary, according to the police and prosecutors. | |
| On Friday, the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., said that he would not prosecute protesters accused of unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct. In a statement, he commended demonstrators who had gathered peacefully and committed no other offenses. | |
| “The prosecution of protesters charged with these low-level offenses undermines critical bonds between law enforcement and the communities we serve,” Mr. Vance said in a statement. “Our office has a moral imperative to enact public policies which assure all New Yorkers that in our justice system and our society, black lives matter and police violence is a crime.” | |
| According to the district attorney’s office, the move affects 71 cases. | |
| Under an existing policy, Manhattan prosecutors dismiss such cases after six months, provided that the accused was not charged with a new crime. | |
| Brooklyn’s district attorney, Eric Gonzalez, has taken a similar stance. He has said his office would review cases in which a desk appearance ticket was issued and then determine whether the case should move forward. In instances where a person was only charged with unlawful assembly or with violating curfew, his office will decline to prosecute. | |
| “We will respond to the arrests here, but we will make sure the prosecution of the individual makes sense and does not trample on the right to assemble,” Mr. Gonzalez said in an interview this week. “We stand for the right of people to protest.” | |
| Mr. Gonzalez’s office has so far declined to prosecute a half-dozen cases. | |
| The Bronx district attorney, Darcel D. Clark, has also declined to prosecute protesters accused of unlawful assembly or violating the curfew. A summons will be issued in such cases instead. | |
| Mr. Vance did not say his office would not prosecute those accused of violating the curfew. He and Mr. Gonzalez have said they would continue to prosecute people accused of violence against officers and looting. Both offices are also investigating allegations of police abuse and brutality against protesters. | |
| A spokeswoman for the mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. | |
| Devora Kaye, a spokeswoman for the Police Department said in a statement, “It is our understanding that each arrest will continue to be looked at on a case-by-case basis.” | |
| Hundreds of people gathered in Brooklyn and Manhattan on Friday at peaceful vigils to honor Breonna Taylor, an African-American emergency medical technician killed by the police in March in Louisville, Ky. | |
| The events were part of national efforts to honor Ms. Taylor on what would have been her 27th birthday. She was shot and killed by officers who burst into her apartment during a late-night drug investigation on March 13. | |
| Ms. Taylor has emerged as a prominent face of #SayHerName, a social media effort to recognize the black women whose deaths at the hands of police have been overshadowed by the police killings of black men. | |
| “Our black women are often forgotten, and that is not OK,” Cherish Patton, 18, told a crowd of hundreds who gathered for a vigil she organized in Harlem in front of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. state office building. She thanked the crowd for “paying tribute” to Ms. Taylor. | |
| People lit candles and placed flowers at the base of a statue of Powell. Ms. Patton burned sage, waving it as the scent wafted through the air. | |
| Later, a violinist played, “This Little Light of Mine,” and Ms. Patton ended the event, which morphed into a short, peaceful March, by leading the crowd in singing Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday.” | |
| At another vigil in Brooklyn, on the steps of the Brooklyn Public Library near Grand Army Plaza, hundreds also gathered and sang “Happy Birthday” to Ms. Taylor. | |
| “Today, we’re celebrating a birthday of somebody who has sparked change in our country and our world,” an organizer said to a group of demonstrators. | |
| Sofia Montgomery, 28, has been attending protests consistently since they began last week. She said she decided to march again on Friday because she wanted to shed light on police brutality against women. | |
| “Women killed by police don’t get as much attention,” Ms. Montgomery said. | |
| A group of volunteers sat around a table and several boxes on Thursday night on Baxter Street in Lower Manhattan. There, they provided those recently released from Manhattan’s central booking or detention complex, known as the “Tombs,” with supplies like hand sanitizer and shoelaces, as well as medical or legal advice. | A group of volunteers sat around a table and several boxes on Thursday night on Baxter Street in Lower Manhattan. There, they provided those recently released from Manhattan’s central booking or detention complex, known as the “Tombs,” with supplies like hand sanitizer and shoelaces, as well as medical or legal advice. |
| Since protests began in New York City, hundreds of people have been arrested after clashing with the police during largely peaceful demonstrations or while looting. The majority have been detained for more than 24 hours, defense lawyers said. | Since protests began in New York City, hundreds of people have been arrested after clashing with the police during largely peaceful demonstrations or while looting. The majority have been detained for more than 24 hours, defense lawyers said. |
| On Thursday morning, more than 380 people were still waiting to see a judge, raising concerns about the health of those held in cramped quarters for extended periods during the coronavirus crisis. They were scattered around the city in cells at Police Headquarters, local precinct houses and at the Manhattan jail. | On Thursday morning, more than 380 people were still waiting to see a judge, raising concerns about the health of those held in cramped quarters for extended periods during the coronavirus crisis. They were scattered around the city in cells at Police Headquarters, local precinct houses and at the Manhattan jail. |
| On Thursday night, as the 8 p.m. curfew approached, a young man in a T-shirt bounded out of Manhattan’s central booking with a whoop. He was jubilant as he approached the table, which was surrounded by various volunteers, including a doctor. | On Thursday night, as the 8 p.m. curfew approached, a young man in a T-shirt bounded out of Manhattan’s central booking with a whoop. He was jubilant as he approached the table, which was surrounded by various volunteers, including a doctor. |
| The man, who did not wish to provide his name, accepted a cigarette and laces, and said he had been held since Monday, sleeping on and off as he waited for his name to be called. | The man, who did not wish to provide his name, accepted a cigarette and laces, and said he had been held since Monday, sleeping on and off as he waited for his name to be called. |
| A volunteer also asked the man if the police or the F.B.I. had questioned whether he had ties to Antifa or another group. (The man said no.) He said he worried that his girlfriend, who had come to pick him up, would suffer the consequences of being out after curfew. | A volunteer also asked the man if the police or the F.B.I. had questioned whether he had ties to Antifa or another group. (The man said no.) He said he worried that his girlfriend, who had come to pick him up, would suffer the consequences of being out after curfew. |
| Nearby, a few others who had recently been released sat on park benches. | Nearby, a few others who had recently been released sat on park benches. |
| Volunteers gathered around a similar “jail support” station near Brooklyn’s central booking in Downtown Brooklyn on Thursday night. A nurse in scrubs sat near a long table along with several others in masks. | Volunteers gathered around a similar “jail support” station near Brooklyn’s central booking in Downtown Brooklyn on Thursday night. A nurse in scrubs sat near a long table along with several others in masks. |
| They had arranged gauze and bandages, ibuprofen and antibiotic ointment on one end of the table, along with pots of salve and calming bath salts that had been donated. | They had arranged gauze and bandages, ibuprofen and antibiotic ointment on one end of the table, along with pots of salve and calming bath salts that had been donated. |
| At another table, volunteers waited to offer stacks of clementines and large serving dishes of food to hungry people who were not expected to be released from jail anytime soon. One volunteer said most people were released between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. The group had covered its station with a blue tarp, preparing for the rain. | At another table, volunteers waited to offer stacks of clementines and large serving dishes of food to hungry people who were not expected to be released from jail anytime soon. One volunteer said most people were released between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. The group had covered its station with a blue tarp, preparing for the rain. |
| It was about 8:45 p.m. in Brooklyn on Wednesday, 45 minutes past the city’s curfew, when a peaceful protest march encountered a line of riot police, near Cadman Plaza. | It was about 8:45 p.m. in Brooklyn on Wednesday, 45 minutes past the city’s curfew, when a peaceful protest march encountered a line of riot police, near Cadman Plaza. |
| Hundreds of demonstrators stood there for 10 minutes, chanting, arms raised, until their leaders decided to turn the group around and leave the area. | Hundreds of demonstrators stood there for 10 minutes, chanting, arms raised, until their leaders decided to turn the group around and leave the area. |
| What they had not seen was that riot police had flooded the plaza behind them, engaging in a law enforcement tactic called kettling, which involves encircling protesters so that they have no way to exit from a park, city block or other public space, and then charging them and making arrests. | What they had not seen was that riot police had flooded the plaza behind them, engaging in a law enforcement tactic called kettling, which involves encircling protesters so that they have no way to exit from a park, city block or other public space, and then charging them and making arrests. |
| The kettling operations carried out by the city’s police after curfew on recent nights have become among the most unsettling symbols of the department’s use of force against peaceful protests, which has touched off a fierce backlash against Mayor Bill de Blasio and the police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea. | The kettling operations carried out by the city’s police after curfew on recent nights have become among the most unsettling symbols of the department’s use of force against peaceful protests, which has touched off a fierce backlash against Mayor Bill de Blasio and the police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea. |
| In the past several days, New York Times journalists covering the protests have seen officers repeatedly charge at demonstrators after curfew with seemingly little provocation, shoving them onto sidewalks, striking them with batons and using other aggressive tactics. | In the past several days, New York Times journalists covering the protests have seen officers repeatedly charge at demonstrators after curfew with seemingly little provocation, shoving them onto sidewalks, striking them with batons and using other aggressive tactics. |
| In an interview on WNYC on Friday, the mayor said the encircling of protesters was sometimes necessary for public safety. “I don’t want to see protesters hemmed in if they don’t need to be,” he said, but he added “that sometimes there’s a legitimate problem and it’s not visible to protesters.” | In an interview on WNYC on Friday, the mayor said the encircling of protesters was sometimes necessary for public safety. “I don’t want to see protesters hemmed in if they don’t need to be,” he said, but he added “that sometimes there’s a legitimate problem and it’s not visible to protesters.” |
| Reporting was contributed by Anne Barnard, Gabriela Bhaskar, Julia Carmel, Jo Corona, Annie Correal, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, Alan Feuer, Michael Gold, Christina Goldbaum, Melissa Guerrero, Corey Kilgannon, Jeffery C. Mays, Terence McGinley, Andy Newman, Derek M. Norman, Azi Paybarah, Pia Peterson, Sean Piccoli, Jan Ransom, Dana Rubinstein, Eliza Shapiro, Ashley Southall, Liam Stack, Matt Stevens, Nikita Stewart, Katie Van Syckle and Anjali Tsui. | |