Video of NYPD patrol car plowing into George Floyd protesters under probe, mayor says officers not at fault
The New York Police Department is currently investigating a viral video that shows a patrol vehicle plowing through a crowd of George Floyd protesters on Saturday, May 30.
The video in question is a 27-second-long clip that shows an NYPD vehicle standing in front of a barricade, which separates a herd of angry protesters from the patrol car. Initially, the protesters seem to be throwing plastic bottles and other objects at the car. After a few seconds, another patrol car is seen arriving in the vicinity, pulling up just beside the first patrol car. The second car passes it by, forcing protesters on the street to make way for it.
Then, all of a sudden, the first car drives right ahead, pushing the barricade back with force and appears to plow into the gathered protesters. A lot of screaming and yelling is heard, followed by a protester jumping on the hood of the first car. It was unclear whether any of the protesters incurred any injuries in the incident.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio refused to blame the law enforcement officers involved in the incident although he did confirm that the matter was under investigation. "I'm not going to blame officers who were trying to deal with an absolutely impossible situation. The folks who were converging on that police car did the wrong thing to begin with, and they created an untenable situation," he said, 9News reported. "I wish the officers had found a different approach, but let's begin at the beginning. The protesters in that video did the wrong thing to surround that police car, period."
Protests which broke out in Minneapolis, Minnesota -- after a police officer caused the death of an African-American man, Floyd, after using his knee to sit on the neck of the handcuffed victim for eight minutes while arresting him on May 25 -- soon spread to others parts of the country, leading to more than 30 fires, destruction of businesses and looting.
On Saturday, the mayor said that he had spoken with community leaders and determined that there were some protesters who were intentionally trying to incite violence in the city, including people who had come from other states. "People who represent the communities of our city and the residents of our city are not joining negative and violent protests," de Blasio said. "A small number of people in the scheme of things protesting to begin with, very few of whom committed acts of violence, but that few were systematic in their efforts to harm police officers and to create damage to police vehicles, to storefronts, to other property."
He added: "And again that's not going to get us anywhere. So to the peaceful protesters, if any of you are still out there tonight, who are trying to work peacefully for change, let me be very clear. We hear your desire to see these issues, relationship between police and community, the need for justice, the need for real change in our society. We hear you loud and clear. We appreciate respect to all peaceful protest. But now it is time for people to go home."
Previously, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that he had ordered the state attorney general to review the events of Friday's protests including the clash between protesters and the police in Brooklyn and other boroughs.