New York City has been the site of many Black Lives Matter protests in response to incidents of police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. The Black Lives Matter movement began as a hashtag after the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin, and became nationally recognized for street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two African Americans, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Garner was killed in the Staten Island borough of New York City, leading to protests, demonstrations, and work towards changes in policing and the law. Following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020, the global response included extensive protests in New York City, and several subsequent changes to policy.
The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013 at the end of the trial of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin. It began has a hashtag in response to the "not guilty" verdict, and soon after appeared on a banner in a protest march in California. [1] A year later, the phrase and the movement surrounding it came to national attention following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the killing of Eric Garner on Staten Island, New York. [1]
There is a long history of civil unrest in New York City related to race and policing preceding the coalescing of Black Lives Matter, and the New York Police Department has been the subject of frequent criticism for its treatment of black citizens, including use of racial profiling, its stop-and-frisk program, and the use of mass arrests and other aggressive tactics against protesters. [2] There have been several cases of controversial use of force which attracted national attention, such as the shootings of Clifford Glover, Sean Bell, Eleanor Bumpurs, Gidone Busch, Amadou Diallo, Ramarley Graham, and Timothy Stansbury. [3]
On July 17, 2014, New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers approached Eric Garner on suspicion of selling single cigarettes without tax stamps. Garner denied selling cigarettes and told police he was tired of being harassed. Officers attempted to arrest Garner, and when Garner pulled his arms away, officer Daniel Pantaleo placed his arm around Garner's neck, using a prohibited chokehold, and wrestled him to the ground. As multiple police subdued him, Garner repeated the words "I can't breathe" 11 times while lying face down on the sidewalk. He eventually lost conscious and remained on the sidewalk for seven minutes while officers waiting for an ambulance. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital an hour later. [4] [5] The medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide resulting from "[compression] of neck, compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police." [6] Video footage of the event circulated widely on social media and in news media. [7]
The first public event protesting Garner's death was organized by Al Sharpton in Harlem. Joined by Garner's wife and mother, Sharpton condemned the actions of the officers involved and called for an investigation. [8] At the Harlem event and at a protest in Staten Island the same day, he highlighted the use of a chokehold, which is not allowed by the NYPD, as well as the lack of response to a person repeatedly telling police that "I can't breathe". [8] Sharpton also addressed attendees at Garner's funeral on July 23, calling for consequences for the officers involved. [9] On July 29, WalkRunFly, a company formed by Tony Award winners Warren Adams and Brandon Victor Dixon, created a guerrilla theater event in Times Square whereby a flashmob led by actor Daniel J. Watts gathered outside NYPD Headquarters to give a protest performance. [10] [11] Sharpton led another march on August 23 on Staten Island, joined by an estimated 2,500 protesters. [12] [13]
On December 4, 2014, a grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo, leading to public backlash, protests, and rallies in New York and nationally. The decision came less than two weeks after another grand jury in Missouri decided not to indict the officer who shot Michael Brown. [14] Thousands protested the Pantaleo decision in New York City, chanting Garner's last words, "I can't breathe," which became a common rallying cry at Black Lives Matter events throughout the Eric Garner protests and other Black Lives Matter events over the years. [15] [14] [16] Mayor Bill de Blasio gave a press conference explaining the importance of the phrase "Black Lives Matter" and describing how he had to talk to his son about possible dangers when engaging with police. [14] [15] A large protest gathered in Manhattan's Foley Square and crossed the Brooklyn Bridge while another started in Harlem. Groups blocked traffic on major thoroughfares like the West Side Highway. [15] Overnight protests which began on the 4th led to more than 223 arrests, largely for disorderly conduct or refusal to clear the streets. [17] More than 25,000 people convened in Manhattan on December 13 for Millions March NYC, starting at Washington Square Park and marching towards 34th Street. [16] [18] [19] Families of unarmed black men killed by police led the march, including the families of Sean Bell and Ramarley Graham. [18] The march later traveled over Brooklyn Bridge and later to police headquarters in Lower Manhattan, where there were conflicts between protesters and police. [18]
On November 20, 2014, two police officers were patrolling unlit stairwells in the Louis H. Pink Houses of East New York. One of them, officer Peter Liang, had his weapon drawn. When Akai Gurley and his girlfriend entered the stairwell beneath them, Liang fired his weapon. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and fatally struck Gurley in the chest. Liang was initially charged with manslaughter, which was reduced to criminally negligent homicide, resulting in probation and community service. [20] In addition to Black Lives Matter protesters, upon the initial indictment of a Hong Kong American police officer, following a history of white police officers not being indicted, large numbers of Chinese-American demonstrators gathered to argue that Liang was a scapegoat for years of unpunished actions by white police. At several events, the Chinese-American protesters joined Black Lives Matter protesters, while at others the groups protested opposite each other. [21] [22] [23] After Liang's sentencing in April 2016, protests flared again. [24]
George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020, while being arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit bill in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As with the killing of Eric Garner, video of the event spread quickly through news and social media sparking international protests. In New York, the incident drew comparisons to Eric Garner, and demonstrations, protests, and marches occurred at several sites in each of the five New York City boroughs starting on May 28, 2020. [25] [26] [27] Garner's mother, Gwen Carr, participated in several of the events. [28] Most of the protests were peaceful, while some sites experienced protester and/or police violence. Looting became a parallel issue. As a result, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the city was placed under curfew for June 1 through June 7. [29] [30] [31]
Amid the protests, there were several instances of excessive force used by police, such as an NYPD vehicle driving into a crowd on May 30, a viral video of an officer pulling down a protester's mask in order to pepper spray him, and the use of kettling and other aggressive policing after curfew. [32] [33] [29] [34] [35] [36] By June 7, a total of 1,126 arrests had been made during the protests, all but 39 of which were for non-violent offenses. [37] Most arrests were made before a curfew was implemented, while afterwards 1,346 people were detained and given summonses for violating it rather than arrested. [37]
The protests catalyzed efforts at police reform. New York City Councilman Rory Lancman first proposed a bill to criminalize chokeholds in 2014, after the killing of Eric Garner, but it was met with strong criticism from the powerful police unions and de Blasio threatened to veto it. [38] [27] In the wake of Floyd's murder, on June 8, City Council moved to pass the legislation, expanding the original ban to cover any action which "restricts the flow of air or blood by compressing the windpipe, diaphragm, or the carotid arteries" while making an arrest. [38] The State Senate and Assembly also passed a bill on June 9 repealing 50-a, a controversial section of the New York Civil Rights Law which made it difficult to attain police personnel records, such as complaints and disciplinary record. [39] [40]
One of the demands made by protesters was to defund the NYPD, moving part of the budget to support communities in other ways, following years of responsibilities being added to the jobs of police. [41] [42] [43] As the budget deadline approached, protesters convened in City Hall Park to "Occupy City Hall", filling the park day and night to call for reducing the NYPD budget. [44] On June 30, City Council reduced the NYPD budget from $6 billion to $5 billion, canceling plans to hire new officers and shifting the responsibility to monitor vending, homeless populations, and schools to other entities. [45] The City Hall occupation lasted for a little over three weeks, with the location acting as a hub for protestors meeting others, seeking emergency medical care, food and water, education, rest. The occupation was heavily surveilled by the NYPD and was the site of much police brutality.
The murder of George Floyd triggered broader civil unrest against systemic racism towards black people in the United States. It has involved protests, demonstrations, and marches as well as a cultural reckoning on topics of racial injustice generally.
On July 28, at a Black liberation march in Kips Bay, an 18 year old trans woman was apprehended by undercover warrant officers of the NYPD and placed in an unmarked gray police van, while bicycle officers held back the crowd. Cell phone video captured by protesters at the scene brought significant controversy on social media over the tactics used by law enforcement, with some making comparisons to use of federal forces in Portland, Oregon. [46] The NYPD that evening stated in a series of tweets that the suspect was wanted in a connection of multiple instances of property damage to police cameras around the time protesters were engaged in Occupy City Hall and that during the arrest they were "assaulted with rocks and bottles". [47] Following the incident, a group of protesters headed east to Madison Square Park, where two scuffles broke out between protesters and police, resulting in 12 arrests. [48]
In August, a protester barricaded himself inside of his apartment in Hell's Kitchen as more than two dozen police officers attempted to make an arrest. The man was accused of assaulting an officer by yelling through a megaphone in a NYPD officer's ear from an incident on June 14. After live streaming attempts by officers to try to reach him, hundreds of protesters converged to the area to show support for the man, which resulted in police pulling out of the area by the early afternoon in order to avoid an escalation. The protester turned himself in the next day and was charged with a misdemeanor. A spokesperson for the district attorney's office defended the utilization of officers by the NYPD to arrest the protest founder. [49] The NYPD later confirmed to the Gothamist of the use of facial recognition technologies in order to track down the suspect, which has been a continued subject of debate. [50]
On August 24, 700 protesters marched from Times Square to Brooklyn to condemn the shooting of Jacob Blake and calling for further police reforms. Metal barriers were erected by the NYPD to prevent protesters from crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, however 300 protesters jumped them. [51]
On September 4, several Daniel Prude demonstrators in Times Square sustained minor injuries after a sedan plowed through them and drove away. The NYPD investigated the matter and stated that the driver was not associated with the police, after initial rumors. The suspected driver had reportedly been seen at a counter-protest earlier that evening. [52] The next day on September 5, NYPD identified the six suspects including one who is repeat vandal of the BLM mural in front of Trump Tower. The suspects claimed that they were in jeopardy. No injuries had been reported however an investigation was underway by the office of Keith Powers. [53]
Following the 2020 United States presidential election on November 3, there were a series of several nights of post-election protests throughout the city in respond to claims by President Trump of electoral fraud; with peaceful protesters calling for the continued counting of every vote. 85 arrests had occurred by November 6. [54]
On December 11, about 50 protesters marching against the custody of 9 undocumented immigrants by I.C.E. sponsored by Black Lives Matter in Murray Hill were injured following a vehicle driving through the crowd, resulting in six being hospitalized and the arrest of a 52-year-old woman who faced reckless endangerment charges. [55] [56]
Following the Storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, many New York officials including Jumaane Williams and Eric Adams drew contrasts to the response by law enforcement compared to the Summer of 2020, where there was a more aggressive response by police on Black Lives Matter demonstrators. [57]
A Black Lives Matter march through Midtown Manhattan clashed with police on Sixth Avenue on February 12. Eleven people were arrested around Times Square, with two officers and a news reporter suffering injuries. [58] The news reporter was a photographer for The Daily News, and was assaulted by a mob of 10 to 15 protesters. [59]
In June 2020, a large mural was painted on Fulton Street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, displaying the words "Black Lives Matter" in yellow letters and the names of people killed by racial violence like George Floyd. [60] [61] [62] In July, New York elected officials painted another similar mural on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, directly in front of Trump Tower. [63] [64] The president expressed his opposition to the mural after it was announced. [65] In the weeks after it was painted, the mural was repeatedly vandalized and repainted. [66] [67] [68] [69] [70]
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, municipal police departments in the United States.
A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking) or blood (strangling) from passing through the neck of an opponent. The restriction may be of one or both and depends on the hold used and the reaction of the victim. While the time it takes for the choke to render an opponent unconscious varies depending on the type of choke, the average across all has been recorded as 9 seconds.
The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA) is the largest police union representing police officers of the New York City Police Department. It represents about 24,000 of the department's 36,000 officers.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) originates in the Government of New York City attempts to control rising crime in early- to mid-19th-century New York City. The City's reforms created a full-time professional police force modeled upon London's Metropolitan Police, itself only formed in 1829. Established in 1845, the Municipal Police replaced the inadequate night watch system which had been in place since the 17th century, when the city was founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam.
Throughout the history of the New York City Police Department, numerous instances of corruption, misconduct, and other allegations of such, have occurred. Over 12,000 cases resulted in lawsuit settlements totaling over $400 million during a five-year period ending in 2014. In 2019, misconduct lawsuits cost the taxpayer $68,688,423, a 76 percent increase over the previous year, including about $10 million paid out to two exonerated individuals who had been falsely convicted and imprisoned.
On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, an African American man, was killed in the New York City borough of Staten Island by Daniel Pantaleo, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, after the latter put him in a prohibited chokehold while arresting him. Video footage of the incident generated widespread national attention and raised questions about the use of force by law enforcement.
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people and to promote anti-racism. Its primary concerns are police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. The movement began in response to the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Rekia Boyd, among others. BLM and its related organizations typically advocate for various policy changes related to black liberation and criminal justice reform. While there are specific organizations that label themselves "Black Lives Matter", such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, the overall movement is a decentralized network with no formal hierarchy. As of 2021, there are about 40 chapters in the United States and Canada. The slogan "Black Lives Matter" itself has not been trademarked by any group.
On December 20, 2014, Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley shot and killed Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu — two on-duty New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers — in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Brinsley then fled into the New York City Subway, where he killed himself. Earlier in the day, before he killed Ramos and Liu, Brinsley had shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend Shaneka Thompson in Baltimore after initially pointing the gun at his own head.
Assata's Daughters is an American black power organization of young radical African-American women and girls in Chicago, which operates through a Black, queer, feminist lens, that focuses on political education, organizing, and revolutionary services. The group is dedicated to radical liberatory activism in the tradition of Assata Shakur, a former member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). The organization is often criticised for this connection, as Assata Shakur was convicted of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and other crimes in 1977 in the murder of a New Jersey State Trooper.
Erica Garner-Snipes was an American activist who advocated for police reform, particularly in the use of force during arrests. Garner became involved in activism following the 2014 murder of her father, Eric Garner, after a New York City police officer placed him in a lethal chokehold during an arrest.
Ramsey Orta is an American man who filmed the killing of Eric Garner in New York City on July 17, 2014. His video spurred protests and debate over city police procedure. Following a campaign of police harassment after the video went viral, Orta has expressed regret in filming the incident. In 2016, Orta was sentenced to four years in prison for weapons and drug charges after accepting a plea deal for which the prosecutor agreed to drop charges against his mother. He was released in May 2020.
The George Floyd protests were a series of riots and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as reactions to the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed African American man, by city police during an arrest. They spread nationally and internationally. Veteran officer Derek Chauvin was recorded as kneeling on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds; Floyd complained of not being able to breathe, but three other officers looked on and prevented passersby from intervening. Chauvin and the other three officers involved were later arrested. In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. In June 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22+1⁄2 years in prison.
"I can't breathe" is a slogan of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The phrase originates from the last words of Eric Garner, an unarmed man who was killed in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by a New York City police officer. A number of other Black Americans, such as Javier Ambler, Manuel Ellis, Elijah McClain, and George Floyd, have said the same phrase prior to dying during similar law-enforcement encounters. According to a 2020 report by The New York Times, the phrase has been used by over 70 people who died in police custody.
George Floyd protests in New York City took place at several sites in each of the five New York City boroughs, starting on May 28, 2020, in reaction to the murder of George Floyd. Most of the protests were peaceful, while some sites experienced protester and/or police violence, including several high-profile incidents of excessive force. Looting became a parallel issue, especially in Manhattan. As a result, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the city was placed under curfew from June 1–7, the first curfew in the city since 1943.
Gwen Carr is an American activist, public speaker, and author. Carr's son, Eric Garner, was killed by a New York Police Department officer who used a prohibited chokehold to arrest Garner. Since her son's death, Carr has become active in police reform in the United States, including as a member of Mothers of the Movement and a voice in the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Black Lives Matter movement has been depicted and documented in various artistic forms and mediums including film, song, television, and the visual arts. In some instances this has taken place in the form of protest art. These cultural representations have also grown organically among artists who seek to partake in activist efforts in support or in recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement. The themes conveyed in these artistic works address the history of racism and injustice toward people of color in the United States and typically express sentiments of anger and fear as well as solace and hope.
Walter "Hawk" Newsome is an American law school graduate who co-founded Black Lives Matter of Greater New York alongside his sister Chivona Newsome.
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