The Escalation of Violence After George Floyd's Death
Protests and riots in response to the killing of George Floyd are still ongoing.
Since our last update, Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with the death of Floyd had his 3rd Degree Murder charge upgraded to 2nd Degree. The three other former officers involved in the incident have been charged with Aiding & Abetting Murder. These charges, however, have not slowed the momentum of civil unrest, which has entered its tenth day.
Unrest is continuing to spread around the world. In Athens, Greece, anarchists gathered around the US embassy in the city and threw Molotov cocktails towards the compound. In New South Wales, Australia, a planned protest was just blocked by the state's Supreme Court citing COVID-19 estrictions.
Violence between rioters/protesters and law enforcement has been consistent throughout the last ten days. On Tuesday night, one officer with the Las Vegas Metro PD was killed in an ambush on the Vegas Strip. In another incident, one federal officer was killed while guarding the city's federal courthouse. In multiple cities police have dispersed peaceful protests and riots with less-lethal means (rubber bullets, tear gas, etc.). On the other hand rioters have injured dozens, if not hundreds, of law enforcement officers over the course of the past ten days. Sadly, innocent and uninvolved parties have been injured and killed, accidentally or deliberately, by both sides.
On Wednesday, two Buffalo, NY police officers were seen shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground as he approached the officers in a manner that did not appear confrontational. This led to the victim's bleeding from the head and officers walked by the man and watched him bleed. In the official resport regarding the incident police said that the man tripped and fell. Video evidence shows this couldn't be further from the truth. He is currently in the hospital in critical condition. The two officers, both assigned to Buffalo PD's Emergency Response Team, were suspended the following day. In protest to the suspensions of the two officers every single member of the department's Emergency Response Team has resigned their position on the team. This amounts to 57 police officers.
In New York City, rioting and looting has not ceased. On Monday night, mass looting occurred on 5th Ave with virtually no opposition from the NYPD. The next day, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo threatened to "displace" Mayor Bill DeBlasio and deploy the National Guard to the city, saying the mayor and NYPD have failed. DeBlasio has denied assistance from the National Guard repeatedly.
In Washington DC, all active-duty troops deployed to the area were ordered back to their duty stations by Friday afternoon. Physical barriers have recently been erected around the White House; but for now it appears that federal troops will no longer be needed in the nation's capital.
The situation around the nation is still liable to rapid change. Violent clashes between law enforcement and rioters/protesters will surely do more harm than good.
As always we'll keep you all up-to-date. Stay safe and have a good one,
Brodie