The curfew is designed to escalate conflict, not defuse it.
Last night, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and I were able to help de-escalate a tense standoff between the NYPD and a group of non-violent protestors.
But let’s be clear: it never should have escalated to begin with.
The march, like others around the city last night, had been proceeding peacefully for hours around downtown Brooklyn. A diverse group of about 1000 young people, crying out for justice for #GeorgeFloyd, to defund the police, to insist that #BlackLivesMatter.
At many points, the march was self-policing. A protestor would throw a bag of garbage into the street; another would put it back on the sidewalk. A young white man climbed up a sign & started causing a disturbance. A young black woman gently but insistently pulled him down.
We were surrounded by NYPD officers the whole time. For the most part, they stayed just behind the march, or blocking off random side streets. One of my favorite chants of these protests: “We don’t see no riot here. Why’re you wearing riot gear?!”
Around 10:15, at Fulton St & Washington Ave, all of a sudden, several cops surged into the crowd, grabbed a couple protestors, put them on the ground. There was no threat of looting or violence against the officers. Felt like a melee was about to begin.
Once we turned onto Washington Avenue, by now a few hundred protestors, we found ourselves blocked on both sides by a phalanx of cops. It got very tense. Felt like arrests were about to begin, in a way that would most decidedly not be peaceful.
That was when Jumaane and I started engaging the officers facing us.
By good fortune, one of the cops in charge was a former commanding officer of the NYPD 78th Precinct who I’ve worked and built trust with.
Jumaane and I asked why the aggressive arrests had begun, what had happened? It was clear that nothing had happened. The cops had just gotten tired of marching.
Of the curfew: only arbitrary and capricious and violent enforcement is possible.
The inspector wanted a definite end time. We made clear we were in no position to dictate terms to the marchers. I deployed my “old man strategy” saying, let us tire ourselves out. After a few minutes, the inspector agreed march could continue.
But by then, the marchers had made their own smart decision. There would be no more violence tonight. It had been a good march. Let’s go home. We’ll come back tomorrow.
In the Bronx & Williamsburg, though, there were aggressive clashes when cops arbitrarily decided to end peaceful marches.
This will keep happening as long as the curfew continues. It is designed to escalate conflict, not to defuse it.
Meanwhile, the NYPD are filling up One Police Plaza & jails with protestors. More than 70% have been waiting over 24 hours, in crowded cells. I’ve heard reports of lack of water, food, medical treatment, phone access. This amplifies the cycle of anger at injustice.
I’m glad Jumaane and I were there to de-escalate last night. But real de-escalation? End the curfew. Stand the NYPD down from aggressive tactics. Protect against looting, of course. But allow space for protest. And start real work to end abusive policing.
That means moving quickly on accountability on abusive policing incidents, both recent and further past. https://changethenypd.org/delrawnsmall
https://changethenypd.org/ericgarner
Repeal 50-A. Cut the NYPD’s budget.
And it means starting a real process for a fundamental re-thinking of how we achieve community safety, as the City Council is starting to do in Minneapolis, per Jeremiah Bey Ellison & his colleagues.
That's what real de-escalation would like look.