The mayor of Minneapolis said of the unrest: ‘This needs to stop’
MINNEAPOLIS (Minnesota, US), June 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Curfews have been ordered in cities across the US to try to stem unrest sparked by the death of a black man in police custody.
Largely peaceful protests later turned violent in many areas, with cars and buildings set alight and riot police using tear gas and rubber bullets.
President Donald Trump urged “healing” over the death of George Floyd but said he could not allow mobs to dominate.
An ex-policeman has been charged with murdering Floyd, 46, in Minneapolis. Derek Chauvin, 44 and white, is due to appear in court on Monday.
The Floyd case has reignited US anger over police killings of black Americans. It follows the high-profile cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in New York and others that have driven the Black Lives Matter movement.
But for many it also reflects years of frustration over socioeconomic inequality and segregation, not least in Minneapolis itself.
Large demonstrations have taken place in at least 30 cities across the US.
One of the cities worst affected by unrest is Los Angeles. California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the city and activated the National Guard – the reserve military force that can be called on by the US president or state governors to intervene in domestic emergencies.
The entire city is under a 8pm to 5:30am curfew. Numerous shops have been looted, including on the famous retail avenues, Melrose and Fairfax, while overhead footage showed fires burning. Earlier police fired rubber bullets and hit protesters with batons.
Mayor Eric Garcetti said this was “the heaviest moment I’ve experienced” since the riots in 1992 that were sparked by the acquittal of police over the beating of Rodney King.
In New York, video showed a police car driving into a crowd of protesters. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the situation was not started by the officers, but Congress Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said his comments were unacceptable and he should not be making excuses for the officers.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot imposed a 9pm to 6am curfew until further notice, saying she was “disgusted” at the violence.
“I’ve seen protesters hurl projectiles at our police department… bottles of water, urine and Lord knows what else,” she said.
In Atlanta, protesters remained on the streets after the curfew began, damaging property and vehicles. Dozens of arrests were made.
One city that has seen less violence is where George Floyd died. Some 700 National Guard officers are aiding police in Minneapolis and they acted quickly to enforce the curfew imposed there. The Star Tribune said the action had so far headed off the unrest of the previous night.
For the second day running, a large crowd taunted National Guard officers outside the White House in Washington, DC.
In Philadelphia, also under curfew, 13 police officers were hurt and at least 35 arrests made as stores were looted, police cars torched and buildings defaced.
Overnight curfews have also been declared in Philadelphia, Portland and Louisville, among other cities, although many were simply ignored.
San Francisco is the latest to impose a curfew, announced by Mayor London Breed for 8pm local time on Sunday, after looting and violence.
On Saturday evening, Trump said that Floyd’s death had “filled Americans with horror, anger and grief”.
“I stand before you as a friend and ally to every American seeking peace,” he said in a televised address from Cape Canaveral in Florida, following the launch into orbit of two Nasa astronauts by billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.
The president denounced the actions of “looters and anarchists”, accusing them of dishonouring the memory of Floyd. What was needed, he said, was “healing not hatred, justice not chaos”.
“I will not allow angry mobs to dominate – won’t happen,” he added.
He said that if the violence was not brought under control, the National Guard would do the job. — NNN-AGENCIES
