NYC protests continue for third day
Protests held in Union Square as New York City protests continue for the third day; Bryan Llenas reports.
More than 300 people were arrested in New York City's overnight violent anti-police brutality demonstrations, in what Mayor Bill de Blasio called a "tense" night for police officers.
A video circulating on social media fueled an already heated debate about the use of police force as an incident caught on camera showed an NYPD cruiser ramming into a crowd of protesters in New York City.
De Blasio said he's "not going to blame officers" for the incident, instead saying it was wrong for protesters to throw water bottles and other objects while surrounding the NYPD vehicles.
"It's inappropriate for protesters to surround a police vehicle and threaten police officers. That's wrong on its face," de Blasio said late on Saturday night during a press briefing.
Police arrested 345 people during the protests.
NYPD SERGEANT'S UNION SHOOTS BACK AT DE BLASIO AFTER MAYOR ASKS FOR 'LIGHT TOUCH' WITH PROTESTERS
New York Police officers push back protesters as a police car burns during a demonstration, Saturday, May 30, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The mayor said the pockets of violence were only a small representation of the hundreds of people who turned out in the city to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custory after a white police officer in Minneapolis kneeled on his neck for more than 8 minutes while making an arrest.
"Peaceful protesters, if you're out tonight... we hear your issues, the need for justice, real change. If you went out, you have been heard," de Blasio said just before midnight.
He warned that anyone out to "create violence" won't be tolerated. "You will get arrested tonight," added.
New York Police officers restrain protesters during a demonstration, Saturday, May 30, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
"A different element has come into play here," de Blasio said of the protesters involved in the incident in New York. "Trying to hurt police officers and trying to damage their vehicles -- if a police officer is in that situation they have to get out of that situation."
The NYPD told Fox News that 33 officers were injured and 47 police vehicles were damaged in demonstrations held across Brooklyn and other neighborhoods throughout New York City.
"The video was upsetting and I wish the officers hadn't done that, but I also understood that they didn't start the situation. The situation was started by a group of protesters converging on a police vehicle, attacking that vehicle. It's unacceptable," the mayor said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., demanded de Blasio investigate the situation, saying, "these officers need to be brought to justice, not dismissed w/'internal reviews.'"
"NYPD officers just drove an SUV into a crowd of human beings. They could‘ve killed them, &we don’t know how many they injured. NO ONE gets to slam an SUV through a crowd of human beings," she said on Twitter.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea applauded officers for handling what he called an "unprecedented" situation.
"I’m extremely proud of the way you’ve comported yourselves in the face of such persistent danger," Shea said in a statement released on Sunday.
Tensions between law enforcement and their communities have continued to boil over as protesters across the country came out to demonstrate against police brutality and racial injustice.
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Some protests got violent, with people looting and damaging storefronts, throwing objects at police officers and vehicles, and burning flags, buildings and property, prompting the use of the National Guard in some states, while others implemented curfews to stop the swell of aggression.
