US gears for weekend protests amid anger at new police abuses
06 June, 2020
AMERICA braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera.
With protests over last week's police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, surging right into a second weekend, President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy by saying it had been a "great day" for Floyd.
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for November's election, called Trump's comments "frankly despicable," as thousands took to streets across America for a 10th straight day of anti-racism demonstrations.
Massive street demonstrations are set for Saturday, including in Washington where thousands of people are anticipated. The mayor painted "Black Lives Matter" in giant letters on the highway resulting in the White House prior to the crowd's arrival.
Also on Saturday a remembrance for Floyd will be held in Raeford, NEW YORK, the state where he was created, following an initial ceremony in Minneapolis that happened Thursday.
The protests, sparked by a officer kneeling on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes as he pleaded for his life, occurred amid a roiling controversy over officers' utilization of force against largely tranquil demonstrators.
In Buffalo, NY, two policemen were suspended without pay after a video showed them shoving over a 75-year-old protester who fell and suffered a head injury.
Reporting the suspension on Twitter, Mayor Byron Brown said he and the police commissioner were "deeply disturbed" by the video.
An earlier police statement said the person, who appeared unconscious and bleeding heavily from the top, "tripped and fell."
Governor Andrew Cuomo called the incident "wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful," in a tweet.
In Indianapolis, police launched an investigation after a video emerged showing at least four officers hitting a female with batons and firing pepper balls at her on Sunday night.
And in New York City Thursday, officers baton-charged a large number of peaceful protesters defying a curfew in the Bronx after pinning them in, leaving them with nowhere to perform, several reports said.
New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced Friday that two officers have been suspended following "several troubling incidents," one for pushing a female to the ground and another for pulling down an man's nose and mouth mask and spraying pepper spray at him. Both incidents were caught on video.
'Out of control'
Under-fire NY Mayor Bill de Blasio, who imposed the week-long night-time curfew after widespread looting earlier in the week, has repeatedly said the NYPD is showing "restraint."
Within an editorial published Friday, The New York Times called on him to "open your eyes.
"The police are out of control," it said.
Floyd, 46, died in the Midwestern city of Minneapolis while handcuffed throughout a May 25 arrest for a non-violent offense.
His death reignited longstanding resentment over police killings of African Americans and unleashed a nationwide wave of protest unlike anything observed in the united states since Martin Luther King's 1968 assassination.
Mass protests also have occurred in European capitals and on Friday Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined a sizable demonstration in Ottawa.
The action has handed Trump one of the biggest challenges of his tumultuous presidency.
While condemning Floyd's death, he has adopted a hardcore stance towards the protesters and has been accused of exacerbating tensions.
US civil rights groups have filed a case suing Trump after security forces fired pepper balls and smoke bombs to clear tranquil demonstrators in Washington before the president walked to a church for a image op earlier this week.
Mayor Muriel Bowser Friday renamed the area outside the White House "Black Lives Matter Plaza" -- unveiling a huge street mural -- after tweeting a letter contacting Trump to "withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military occurrence from our city."
But Trump was back buoyant mood following release of strong job numbers Friday.
He told reporters that such violence as Floyd's death in handcuffs can't be allowed to happen.
Nevertheless, Trump added, "Hopefully George is looking down now and saying that is an excellent thing for our country."
"This is an excellent day for him. It's a great day for everyone," he said.
Biden immediately slammed Trump for invoking Floyd's name.
"George Floyd's last words, 'I can't breathe,' have echoed across our nation and all over the world.
"For the President to try to put any other words in his mouth is frankly despicable," he tweeted.
Curfews lifted
Some of the early protests were marred by rioting and looting nonetheless they have already been mostly peaceful since that time.
Curfews have already been lifted in Washington, Los Angeles and other cities but New York's is because of run for another three nights.
Thousands of marched in Brooklyn on Friday afternoon as activists sought to keep up the movement's momentum in to the weekend.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com
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