NYPD officers arrest protesters for defying citywide curfew
New York City braces for another night of protests; Bryan Llenas reports from Manhattan.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is now investigating a series of burglaries they believed were carried out under the cover of the George Floyd protests.
Police are collecting license plate numbers on vehicles they suspect of carrying looters to different parts of Manhattan, who eyewitnesses say were seen outside storefronts with sledgehammers and crowbars, according to ABC News.
Video footage of looters at the George Floyd protests have emerged over the last couple days as mass looting has become an issue in dozens of cities.
Police forces overwhelmed with the protests have been unable to stop all the looters and vandals causing destruction across cities nationwide.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized the NYPD’s response to Monday night’s destruction.
"I am disappointed and outraged what happened in New York City, that looting and criminal activity hurt everyone in the communities of the protests," Cuomo said from a press conference Tuesday.
"The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night. I believe that," Cuomo said. “The police in New York City were not effective in doing their job last night. Period."
Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the governor’s remarks were “disgraceful” and that he owed an apology to the “36,000 hard-working men and women who have been putting their lives on the line fo us."
"He dishonored the men and women of the NYPD in an absolute inappropriate way for any elected official who blames the NYPD while they were out there fighting on the streets in order to protect people, and I think that's disgraceful," de Blasio said.
President Trump released a tweet advising New York authorities to call in the National Guard, a move the president has been pushing nationwide, all week.
De Blasio responded in a press conference Tuesday, dismissing the need for National Guard.
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“We do not need the National Guard to come into New York City,” said de Blasio. “When outside armed forces come into communities, especially these intense situations they have not been trained for, that’s a dangerous scenario.”
“We have 36,000 police officers who will keep this city safe,” he added.
