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Saturday’s marches drew some of the largest crowds since the demonstrations began — especially in the nation’s capital.
The damage and looting that overshadowed the earlier days of unrest have mostly subsided and some cities have begun doing away with curfews — the latest among them, New York.
“Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our city,” de Blasio said.
And as the protests enter day 13, some cities have begun rolling out new rules for officers or plans of reform, prompted by both the demonstrations and the violent police response they’ve been met with, including tear gas and rubber bullets.
Some police departments suspend tear gas use
Mayor de Blasio said Sunday that two NYPD officers were suspended without pay due to their actions while policing protesters. One was accused of shoving a woman to the ground in Brooklyn last Friday, while the other was accused of pulling down a protester’s face covering and spraying the protester with pepper spray.
Both officers face further disciplinary action, de Blasio said. Additionally, a supervisor in charge of the officer who pushed the woman has been reassigned.
In just a week, footage showed police in Buffalo, New York, push an elderly protester to the ground, causing him to bleed from the head. In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, an officer was placed on administrative leave after shoving a kneeling protester during a demonstration. And in Kansas City, Missouri, footage shows officers using pepper spray and restraining a man who was yelling about police using excessive force.
“I stand in solidarity with our non-violent demonstrators, who are sending a strong message that we are long overdue for meaningful reform and restorative justice,” the mayor tweeted.
Portland is the latest US city to move away from the tactic.
The Seattle police chief said Friday she suspended the department’s use of tear gas for crowd management for at least the next month. And in Denver, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the use of “chemical weapons or projectiles of any kind” against peaceful protesters.
The order comes after four Denver residents who participated in demonstrations filed a complaint Thursday challenging the department’s use of chemical agents and rubber projectiles during protests.
New York’s ‘Say Their Name’ agenda
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined a legislative agenda on criminal justice reform saying on Saturday that his state “is going to lead the way” in change.
Points on the “Say Their Name” agenda include:
- Banning law enforcement officers from using chokeholds
- Designating the attorney general as an independent prosecutor for matters relating to the deaths of unarmed civilians caused by law enforcement
- Prohibiting false race-based 911 reports and making them a crime
- Allowing for transparency of prior disciplinary records of law enforcement officers
“I don’t see anybody who can see the Mr. Floyd video and not be indignant. I don’t understand how you can see that murder on video tape and not be outraged. I said from day one, I share that outrage,” he said.
Floyd remembered near his birthplace
While thousands of people continued protesting Saturday, hundreds lined up for a public viewing of Floyd’s casket in Raeford, North Carolina — about 20 miles from where he was born.
Floyd died last month after pleading for his life as ex-Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the man’s neck.
In a packed memorial for Floyd Saturday, Rev. Christopher D. Stackhouse recounted the protests all over the country and said it was “Floyd who sparked the fuse that is going to change this nation.”
CNN’s Nicole Chavez, Hollie Silverman, Jennifer Henderson and Alta Spells, Dakin Andone, Maggie Fox and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.
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