Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday morning that tonight’s 8 pm to 5 am curfew will be extended for the rest of the week.
City and state officials first implemented the curfew on Monday night at 11 pm after days of protests in memory of George Floyd, some of which included riots, looting, and scuffles involving law enforcement.
As of Sunday morning, cops arrested 345 people, 33 cops were injured, and 47 police vehicles were damaged citywide, according to Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. About two dozen protesters had been transported to area hospitals for injuries, the Fire Department said. Hundreds were arrested.
Protests on June 1 remained mostly peaceful, but there were pockets of looting in Midtown Manhattan, SoHo, and the Bronx. Police made roughly 700 arrests during Monday night’s protests, according to NYPD Commissioner Shea.
“If you choose to protest today, please do so in the daytime and then please go home, because we have work to do this evening to keep a peaceful city,” said de Blasio.
The mayor said that the message of many protesters has been heard “loud and clear” and that there are concerns that the protests will spread COVID-19.
“That is not a minor problem at this point. One days, two days that’s one thing, as it continues that danger is increasing,” he said.
The curfew exempts essential workers and homeless people, de Blasio said.
This story first appeared on AMNY.com.
