Protests continue in NYC amid lingering tensions over curfew

By BRIAN MAHONEY

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Demonstrations over the death of George Floyd continued in New York City on Saturday amid lingering tension between protesters and police over the city’s 8 p.m. curfew.

Thousands took to the streets around the city, a day after mostly peaceful demonstrations Friday night that were punctuated by some minor flare-ups as police sought to enforce the curfew.

At protests in Manhattan, volunteers handed out snacks, first aid kits and plenty of water bottles on a muggy afternoon. One person carried a sign listing nearby open buildings for those seeking to escape the heat — which some soon did when a rain storm arrived.

Antoinette Henry wasn’t surprised people were still marching after more than a week, even though she said she had seen violence from police earlier in the week.

“Our first couple of protests ended a bit violently but we’re back out here. We’re not going to stop fighting,” Henry said.

She added she thinks protests could continue next week, even as some will go back to work when New York City begins its reopening.

“I think as long as we stay organized, that’s exactly what can and will and should happen,” Henry said.

With demonstrations and marches planned throughout the day and into the evening on Saturday in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, local politicians and civil liberties advocates have been calling for an end to the 8 p.m. curfew. They’ve complained that it causes needless friction when officers try to enforce it.

But Mayor Bill de Blasio has insisted the curfew will remain in place throughout the weekend.

Images on social media on Friday night about an hour after a Brooklyn protest ended showed officers surrounding a group of protesters and chasing down some with batons. And officers on Manhattan’s East Side also used force to break up remnants of a march that started near the mayor’s official residence.

There were about 40 arrests citywide — far fewer than previous nights — and no obvious signs of the smash-and-grab stealing that marred protests earlier in the week.

Also on Saturday, police announced charges against a man who allegedly stabbed a police officer in the neck in Brooklyn on Wednesday night.

Twenty-year-old Dzenan Camovic has been hospitalized in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds. The Brooklyn resident faces charges including attempted murder of a police officer, robbery, assault of a police officer and a weapons charge