Tuesday's protests through the eyes of CBC reporters in Washington, Minneapolis and NYC
CBC News | Posted: June 3, 2020 2:17 PM | Last Updated: June 3, 2020
Earlier curfews didn't deter people who wanted to be heard, including the family of George Floyd
Across the United States Tuesday night, the overwhelming message from state and city officials to protesters was "go home."
For the past seven days and nights, people have gathered in cities across the U.S. and around the world — angry over the death of another young black man, this time a Minneapolis man named George Floyd — to demand justice.
The protests have been largely peaceful. But in some areas, they have turned violent, and even deadly.
Major cities moved up their curfew times Tuesday — New York City to 8 p.m., Los Angeles to 6 p.m., Washington to 7 p.m. — in an attempt to clear peaceful daytime protesters and avoid the nighttime violence and looting seen over the past seven nights.
Here's a look at what three CBC News reporters saw from the ground on Tuesday night.
In New York, the earlier curfew did appear to have an effect on protesters. Thousands of people who marched through lower and midtown Manhattan Tuesday afternoon dispersed as the sun went down and police moved them out.
New York City's mayor maintained the negative aspects of the gatherings, including violent clashes and looting, would be stopped.
"We're going to have a tough few days. We're going to beat it back," said Bill de Blasio, in announcing the 8 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew that would be in place through Sunday.
WATCH | Steven D'Souza on the division playing out in New York:
In Washington, however, where the CBC's Paul Hunter is based, the earlier curfew had little impact.
WATCH | Here's what happened:
U.S. President Donald Trump is facing criticism over both his rhetoric around protests and a recent trip to a church for a photo-op. On Monday, law enforcement officers on foot and mounted on horses cleared peaceful protesters away from Lafayette Park near the White House so Trump could walk to St. John's Church, where a fire broke out during earlier protests.
WATCH: Hunter explains some of the criticism:
In Minneapolis, tens of thousands of people gathered peacefully outside City Hall, sending a powerful message.
But it was a silent little girl and her mother whose voices made one of the biggest impressions.
"I want everybody to know that this is what those officers took," said Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd's daughter, during a Minneapolis news conference.
"At the end of the day, they get to go home and be with their families,"
WATCH | More from that moment from Susan Ormiston:
And there was another dramatic development in Minnesota Tuesday, as the state filed a civil rights complaint against the Minneapolis Police Department.
"We know that deeply seated issues exist," Governor Tim Walz said at a press conference. "I know it because we saw the casual nature of the erasing of George Floyd's life and humanity."
He said an investigation led by State Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero will review the department's policies and actions of the past 10 years.
WATCH | Here's a look at the complaint and what it means:
Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on Floyd's neck while detaining him on May 25 outside a convenience store in suspicion of using counterfeit bills to pay for cigarettes has been charged with third-degree murder, but the Floyd family's lawyer has said he expects further charges to be laid.
Three other officers who responded to the scene the day Floyd died were fired by the Minneapolis Police Department but have not been charged.
WATCH | Ormiston explains what's expected next in Minneapolis:
More CBC News coverage of the George Floyd story: