NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Eric Garner’s mother joined the Reverend Al Sharpton and local lawmakers on Thursday to denounce those causing chaos at protests over the death of George Floyd.
Gwen Carr stood beside Sharpton, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and other local leaders as she called for protests to go on but asked for looting and rioting to end.
“We ask the opportunists to go away. This is our movie and we don't want to be an extra in our movie,” she said.
Garner’s mother wore a mask with his last words written across it: “I can’t breathe.” The words have become a rallying cry for protesters as they were the same words uttered by Floyd.
Sharpton said the Minnesota man may still be alive if the officers in Garner’s death were held responsible for their actions.
“There was a signal from New York that you can get away with stopping someone from breathing if you had a blue uniform,” Sharpton said.
Floyd's death has breathed new life into a package of police reform bills that would criminalize chokeholds.
Council Speaker Johnson expects a vote in June, where he hopes real change will come about.
“I will do everything in my power to make sure these bills have passed and signed into law with a veto proof majority,” he said.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has called for reforms to be made quickly in order to stop the violence.
He says the answer to the looting and rioting is not more policing and a curfew, it’s dealing with the issues at hand.
“Nobody wants the looting. Nobody wants the fire. But, the answer is not more police and a curfew. The answer is, let's see how we deal with this issue. I guarantee you, if you deal with the issues, everybody goes home,” Williams said.
He blames Mayor Bill de Blasio, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and President Donald Trump for a lack of leadership.
Williams has proposed a number of reforms he would like to see addressed, hopefully bringing an end to the violence and protest – including reducing the budget of the NYPD and disclosing a itemized NYPD budget.
He hopes the city will invest in community development rather than policing.
“We know how to reduce crime and recidivism- jobs. Communities feel safe through community development in health, jobs, and education. Programs like Cure Violence offer alternatives to police interaction and expanding the scope and investment of these programs means more people have access to services and support that interrupt and reduce violence in the community. The quickest way to stop violence in our schools is with guidance counselors, restorative justice coordinators, and jobs. Investment into guidance counselors, and SYEP is how our city must move forward to heal at this moment,” he said in a statement.