Protesters demanding justice for George Floyd peacefully made their way through Brooklyn Wednesday before things reportedly turned violent after the 8 p.m. curfew.
Earlier in the afternoon, demonstrators gathered at Barclays Center, where video posted to Twitter showed people chanting at police to take a knee or quit their jobs.
Back at the Barclays Center, the crowd has grown considerably, with marchers from other parts of the borough converging here, greeted by cheers from fellow protesters.#NYCPROTEST #brooklynprotest #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/PzCfB5DZPX
— Grant Lancaster (@grantlan145) June 3, 2020
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was with the group and posted a live video to his Twitter, showing police cars surrounding protesters.
— Jumaane Williams (@JumaaneWilliams) June 4, 2020
The area eventually cleared out.
Chief of Department Terence Monahan explained that the aggressive approach was necessary to clear the space, the Time reports.
“When we have these big crowds, especially in this area, especially where we’ve had the looting, no more tolerance,” he told reporters in Manhattan, where similar action was taken to disperse a large group following a day of peaceful protests.. “They have to be off the street. An 8 o’clock curfew, we gave them to 9 o’clock, and there was no indication that they were going to leave these streets.”
At least 60 protest-related arrests were reported Wednesday night in the city.
Despite the late night scuffle, protests were mostly calm all day as thousands took to the street to call for police reform.
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM AppFollow RADIO.COMFacebook | Twitter | Instagram
