At least six people were killed; hundreds were injured; thousands were arrested. And until there are no more — the battle continues. At times, police looked as if they were on the front lines of a war. Those first days of protest after Mr. Floyd’s killing presented an extraordinary law enforcement challenge, experts say, one that few departments were prepared to tackle. “We continue to make the same mistakes,” Mr. Stamper said. The George Floyd uprising has brought us hope. . On May 29, Indianapolis police showed up with helmets, face shields, reinforced vests and batons. For more details on the methodology employed, see the note below). A mural dedicated to George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement has been unveiled at Floyd's alma mater, Jack Yates High School, in … They often treated all protesters the same, instead of differentiating between peaceful protesters and violent troublemakers. Many held signs that read "Black Lives Matter," while others kneeled. The Portland Police Bureau said it was planning anti-racism training for all officers. Demonstrations were large, constant and unpredictable, often springing up organically in several neighborhoods at once. A week into the protests, The Washington Post stated that the current situation suggests that the status quo was undergoing a shock, with the article stating "the past days have suggested that something is changing. But weeks after George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died while being pinned by a white Minneapolis police officer on Memorial Day, Newsome was … From the neighborhoods of Sanford to the streets of Minneapolis and everywhere in between. But this time was different. In places like Indianapolis and Philadelphia, reviewers found, the actions of the officers seemed to make things worse. Mr. Floyd’s death set off a series of nationwide protests against police brutality from late May through June. Black Lives Matter, the Killing of George Floyd, and the Long Fight for Racial Justice. For years, only Los Angeles police who were certified and frequently trained to use a 40-millimeter “less lethal” weapon — usually loaded with hard-foam projectiles — could use it to control crowds. A Minneapolis police officer pointing a rubber-bullet gun at protesters in May. A … ... “If you aren’t moved by the George Floyd … The Black Lives Matter protests peaked on … In Chicago, officers were given arrest kits so old that the plastic handcuffs were decayed or broken. The Times also reviewed after-action examinations by police departments in five other major cities. News|Black Lives Matter ... Floyd was Black. The recent Black Lives Matter protests peaked on June 6, when half a million people turned out in nearly 550 places across the United States. Chauvin and three other officers involved in the incident were fired the day after Floyd died. The trial now underway in Minneapolis of the officer facing the most serious charges in Mr. Floyd’s death, Derek Chauvin, is one potential trigger. At some protests, marchers stood in silence for the amount of time Floyd struggled to … Protesters told investigators this “made the police look militarized and ready for battle.”, At a largely peaceful Chicago protest on May 30, a demonstrator later told the inspector general’s office, the mood shifted when the police arrived. Then, clusters of different phrases referring to Black Lives Matter were bundled, along with popular phrases used that include “take a knee” and “I can’t breathe.” (The hashtags used to create these bundles are available on request). Most Portland police officers had not received “any recent skills training in crowd management, de-escalation, procedural justice, crisis prevention, or other critical skills for preventing or minimizing the use of force,” the city’s report found. The reviews did not examine protesters’ complaints of racial bias in policing. But activists in Indianapolis told reviewers they wanted an acknowledgment by the department that systemic racism exists. While the vast majority of protests were peaceful, in cities like New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Portland, buildings were looted and fires were set, and demonstrators hurled firecrackers and Molotov cocktails at law enforcement officers. It could have caused a … As a white man of privilege what has transpired, what I see, what I hear is … A confrontation between protesters and the police in Brooklyn in May. Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's brother, holds up his fist as he marches with others on Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House, to protest police brutality and racism, on … George Floyd, a survivor’s guilt and a global Black Lives Matter. “Heaping blame on police departments while ignoring the criminals who used protests as cover for planned and coordinated violence almost guarantees a repeat of the chaos we saw last summer,” said Patrick J. Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association in New York City. In many ways, the problems highlighted in the reports are fundamental to modern American policing, a demonstration of the aggressive tactics that had infuriated many of the protesters to begin with. The police killing of George Floyd has sparked a worldwide reckoning. The mistakes transcended geography, staffing levels and financial resources. The Global Legacy Of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter Protests : Rough Translation Five personal stories from five continents on the global impact of George Floyd. Many of the hashtags also included locations – from cities to countries – that were also bundled together and tracked in usage throughout the days. #BlackLivesMatter #justiceforgeorgefloyd. The Black Lives Matter struggle is no longer confined to the national borders of the United States. April 1, 2021 Watching reports and new videos of the George Floyd trial. Here's what you should know. In 2017, the weapon’s use was expanded to other officers. The review found that the force sometimes deviated from policy; one officer justified firing a “less-lethal impact munition” at someone who had engaged in “furtive conversation” and then ran away. Black Lives Matter posts dominated social media in the month after the police killing of George Floyd, eclipsing some of the most popular brands. “Black Lives Matter” has become a global rallying cry against racism and police brutality. Only days that have tweet entries for the full day are shown here. The recent Black Lives Matter protests peaked on June 6, when half a million people turned out in nearly 550 places across the United States. It consisted of learning how to manipulate the weapon and firing it a few times at a stationary target. For decades, criminal justice experts have warned that warrior-like police tactics escalate conflict at protests instead of defusing it. Many held signs that read "Black Lives Matter," while others kneeled. For the analyses presented here, we focus on the following information: time when the tweets was created, location of the user, the full text of the tweet or retweet, and hashtags used (which were extracted from the full text of the tweets). Other murals in honor of George Floyd, and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement overall, have been created around the world, in … The protests reached into every corner of the United States and touched nearly every strand of society." BLACK LIVES MATTER. That’s how long a police officer kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Derek Chauvin’s Defense Puts Black Lives Matter on Trial If George Floyd was somehow culpable in his own death, the defense seemed to argue, then so were the bystanders. In Los Angeles, police did not have enough buses to transport arrested people — a problem the department has had for a decade — and did not plan appropriately for field jails. The Chicago police response on the night of May 29, when hundreds of people marched through the streets, “was marked by poor coordination, inconsistency, and confusion,” the city’s Office of Inspector General found. Race gaps in COVID-19 deaths are even bigger than they appear, Race gaps in SAT scores highlight inequality and hinder upward mobility. By Kim Barker, Mike Baker and Ali Watkins. All found that police wearing so-called “riot gear” or deploying military-style weapons and tear gas led to the same kind of violence police were supposed to prevent. Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's brother, holds up his fist as he marches with others on Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House, to protest police … In Minneapolis, the city that sparked a national reckoning over policing, the City Council only agreed last month to hire a risk-management company to analyze the city’s response to the protests, despite months of pressure. Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune, via Associated Press. In Denver, officers used similar “less lethal” weapons against people who yelled about officers’ behavior. Eight minutes, 46 seconds. “The accounts of senior leadership on this point were sharply conflicting and profoundly confused,” the report said. This time Floyd’s murder ignited a wave of national and then global protest, a wave that is leading to changes in symbols of racism – from flags to statues – in stances of corporations, in hopes of real police reform, and of overdue reparations to Black Americans. ¿Cómo surge el #BlackLivesMatters? police also did not understand how angry people were. In 2015, after national protests over the killing by police of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., another presidential task force said police should promote a “guardian” mind-set instead of that of a “warrior,” and avoid visible riot gear and military-style formations at protests. The question now is how far this energy will translate into concrete action, not least in terms of public policy. Witnessing police tactics. On June 5, 2020, during the George Floyd protests, the DC Public Works Department painted the words "Black Lives Matter" in 35-foot-tall (11 m) yellow capital letters on 16th Street NW on the north of Lafayette Square, part of President's Park near the White House, with the assistance of the MuralsDC program of the DC Department of Public Works, with the DC flag accompanying the text. The Black Lives Matter movement has been protesting the unfair treatment of black people - including by the police and other authorities since 2013 - long before the death of George Floyd. But it was also because the protests pitted demonstrators against officers, who became defensive and emotional in the face of criticism, some reports said. The authors are not currently officers, directors, or board members of any organization with a financial or political interest in this article. Almost uniformly, the reports said departments need more training in how to handle large protests. How many Black lives have to be taken before something is done? Derek Chauvin’s Defense Puts Black Lives Matter on Trial If George Floyd was somehow culpable in his own death, the defense seemed to argue, then so … In more than 580 cities and towns across the United States, hundreds of thousands of Americans have gathered together to protest the police killing of an African American man named George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. No matter who we are, no matter where we’re from, no matter what we do — we matter. The email recipient gave no indication that the department “could not supply that number of flex cuffs, simply replying ‘[o]kay, will do,’” the report found, describing this as a signal of “a widespread, multi-faceted system failure from beginning to end.”. Here we analyze the evolution of a moment into a movement by analyzing Twitter traffic from May 27th to June 4th related to protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. It was the "absolute brutality" of George Floyd's death and the fact that it … Reviewers more often found that officers behaved aggressively, wearing riot gear and spraying tear gas or “less-lethal” projectiles in indiscriminate ways, appearing to target peaceful demonstrators and displaying little effort to de-escalate tensions. The scene outside the courthouse as the first week of the trial comes to a close. Los Angeles officers were issued highly technical foam-projectile launchers for crowd control, but many of them had only two hours of training; one of the projectiles bloodied the eye of a homeless man in a wheelchair. A report from the New York City Department of Investigation noted that most officers had not been adequately trained for policing protests. KHOU Floyd died after a … Using Twitter locations and location hashtags, we can see how on May 28th Minneapolis was the epicenter: But by June 2nd, the protest movement (as measured in Twitter location hashtags) had spread across the nation and around the world: The sense that “this time is different” is palpable in our institutions and our communities, and our analysis here shows how quickly the movement grew. George Floyd – Because Black Lives Matter. But the new training lasted only two hours. The authors did not receive financial support from any firm or person for this article or from any firm or person with a financial or political interest in this article. The Black Lives Matter movement has been protesting the unfair treatment of black people - including by the police and other authorities since 2013 - long before the death of George Floyd. “We’ll be doing this time and time again in the years ahead, unless we are ready for a hard assessment.”, In City After City, Police Mishandled Black Lives Matter Protests, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/20/us/protests-policing-george-floyd.html. From midsize departments like the one in Indianapolis to big-city forces like New York City’s, from top commanders to officers on the beat, police officers nationwide were unprepared to calm the summer’s unrest, and their approaches consistently did the opposite. #ChooseToChallenge is the theme for International Women's Day 2021. The name of George Floyd looks set to enter the history books along with Rosa Parks and Emmett Till, as the face of a moment that fueled a movement. As with the protests in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 that culminated in the Capitol riot, police also did not understand how angry people were, in some cases because they lacked resources devoted to intelligence and outreach that would have put them in better touch with their communities. In Portland, where protests continued nightly, police officers used force more than 6,000 times during six months, according to lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice, which reviewed officers’ actions as part of a previous settlement agreement. Now, he looks back on that moment as one of his greatest regrets in decades in law enforcement. Dallas officials said the department had trouble figuring out how to get water to officers on the front lines. Guidance for the Brookings community and the public on our response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) », Learn more from Brookings scholars about the global response to coronavirus (COVID-19) ». A police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, has been … Several reports faulted departments for failing to train officers to de-escalate conflict, control crowds and arrest large numbers of people. Mario Tama/Getty Image The George Floyd uprising has brought us hope. Giant Black Lives Matter mural painted across from George Floyd’s high school. The New York Times reviewed reports by outside investigators, watchdogs and consultants analyzing the police response to protests in nine major cities, including four of the nation’s largest. Business owners, downtown residents and elected leaders demanded a strong response against protesters who were often never held accountable, the police have said. Officers need more training to manage their emotions and aggressions as part of de-escalation strategies. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! More than a dozen after-action evaluations have been completed, looking at how police departments responded to the demonstrations — some of them chaotic and violent, most peaceful — that broke out in hundreds of cities between late May and the end of August. In more than 580 cities and towns across the United States, hundreds of thousands of Americans have gathered together to protest the police killing of an African American man named George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “American police simply were not prepared for the challenge that they faced in terms of planning, logistics, training and police command-and-control supervision,” said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit that advises departments on management and tactics. In Philadelphia, police sprayed tear gas on a crowd of mainly peaceful protesters trapped on an interstate who had nowhere to go and no way to breathe. In part, the reports acknowledged, that was because of the chaos. The protests, some peaceful and some violent, began after a black man named George Floyd died after a police officer held him down in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US on Monday, May 25. Here's what you should know. Fourteen people in Minnesota have been selected as jurors in former officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial for killing George Floyd, ending a more than two-week process in which they explained their views on Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, the protests after Floyd’s death, and defunding the Minneapolis Police Department. For many long weeks last summer, protesters in American cities faced off against their own police forces in what proved to be, for major law enforcement agencies across the country, a startling display of violence and disarray. Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis was one that may have been added to the long tally of Black Americans who have died at the hands of police officers. Reports in some cities, such as Oakland and Seattle, are not yet completed. Between 1967 and 1976, three federal commissions investigated protests and riots. An after-action report from the City of Dallas cited poor training in the Dallas Police Department’s response to the protests there. In Los Angeles, “the lack of adequate planning and preparation caused the Department to be reactive, rather than proactive,” inhibiting the officers’ ability to control the violence committed by small groups of people. The Minneapolis Police Department has a history of conflict with the Black community. On Tuesday, June 1, people marched through Sydney and Perth and protests are planned for other … An examination of the police response to protests in Los Angeles noted a lack of command-level training for such events. The arrest cards inside the kits were sometimes outdated; the plastic handcuffs in many kits were decayed or broken, a senior police officer later told investigators. ITV daytime show This Morning briefly went dark, showing a black screen with the words “Black Lives Matter”. 2020 was the year America embraced Black Lives Matter as a movement, not just a moment. A Black Lives Matter mural painted on the street outside George Floyd's alma mater, Jack Yates High School, in Houston. Black Lives Matter: Ex-Police Officer, Chauvin's Body Camera Captures His Remarks After Kneeling On George Floyd "That's one person's opinion," Chauvin responded as … Protesters clashing with members of the Chicago Police Department in August. The department deployed officers in ordinary uniforms and encouraged them “to calmly engage in discussion” with protesters, the report said. Officers also improperly fired projectiles that hit or nearly hit heads and faces, according to the report by the city’s independent police monitor. In Raleigh, N.C., a consulting firm that reviewed body cameras and other footage said videos appeared to show officers using pepper spray indiscriminately. Chicago police also did not have enough computers to process large numbers of arrestees. The independent report on the Los Angeles police, commissioned by the City Council, said officers who may have had insufficient training in how to use the weapons fired into dynamic crowds. Now, months after the demonstrations that followed the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police in May, the full scope of the country’s policing response is becoming clearer. Giant Black Lives Matter mural painted across from George Floyd’s high school. By a uniformed officer. Early on May 30, the department’s deputy chief of operations emailed another command staff member requesting 3,000 flex cuffs for the following day. These 15 million tweets were compiled using an open-source command line tool known as Twarc, which archives tweets that contain a specific qualifying term – in this case, any tweet containing the word or hashtag “protest.” (Note that owing to technical issues, some of the days do not have full collection of tweets. “They were dressed in riot gear,” the protester said. “We did the same things and made a lot of the same mistakes,” Ms. Hall said. U. Reneé Hall, who resigned as the chief of the Dallas Police Department in the aftermath of protests, said the recent assessments have provided a learning opportunity for departments nationwide. A single tweet can contain more than 150 different data variables. “To be precise takes practice,” it said. It could have caused a brief, mostly local, flurry of attention before the world moved on. Departments also were criticized for not planning for protests, despite evidence that they would be large. Takeaways from Day 5 of the Derek Chauvin trial. George Floyd: ¿qué es y cómo surge el movimiento Black Lives Matter? He added: “They had batons in their hands already.”. Protestors’ calls for justice, police accountability, and for an end to the systemic racism deeply … Inquiries into law enforcement’s handling of the George Floyd protests last summer found insufficient training and militarized responses — a widespread failure in policing nationwide. Now we must turn protest to policy. We honor those lost and pledge to fight for justice. Every single Black life matters. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. But the death of George Floyd, a black man whose neck was pinned to the ground under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, sparked the most … The reports are strikingly similar, a point made by the Indianapolis review, which said that officers’ responses “were not dissimilar to what appears to have occurred in cities around the country.” Of the outside reviews, only the police department in Baltimore was credited with handling protests relatively well. Conway the Machine, “Front Lines” After protesters set fire to the Minneapolis police department’s … The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and numerous others, plus the Black Lives Matter protests, confirmed what my students of color had told me for years. #BlackLivesMatter #justiceforgeorgefloyd. News|Black Lives Matter ... Floyd was Black. Leaders need to develop more restrictive guidelines and better supervision of crowd control munitions, such as tear gas. Protestors’ calls for justice, police accountability, and for an end to the systemic racism … Senior police officials in Chicago, when interviewed after the protests ended, still did not know who was in charge of responding to the demonstrations that day. Chauvin and three other officers involved in the incident were fired the day after Floyd died. A … The reports repeatedly blamed police departments for escalating violence instead of taming it. George Floyd was not the first. Police departments in some cities have fought back against the findings, arguing that officers were asked to confront unruly crowds who lit fires, smashed shop windows and sometimes attacked the police. Once extracted, we sorted the hashtags into bundles. The next day, police intelligence suggested that a few hundred protesters would attend a planned demonstration; 30,000 people showed up. Protests continue across the US and elsewhere around the world over police treatment of black people. The Twitter traffic shows that protest-related tweets, initially strongly centered on George Floyd, quickly widened to be about Black Lives Matter more generally: At the same time that the protests broadened from the specific case to the general cause, the movement spread out geographically, from an initial concentration in Minneapolis to other U.S. cities and other nations. Black Lives Matter, the Killing of George Floyd, and the Long Fight for Racial Justice. Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis was one that may have been added to the long tally of Black Americans who have died at the hands of police officers. ... Mementos dedicated to George Floyd … How many Black lives have to be taken before something is done? Senior law enforcement officers in Cleveland developed plans to manage a large protest but did not share the details with patrol supervisors. The Office of Inspector General in Chicago described a disconnect in how the police response was viewed by leadership and rank-and-file officers. Eight minutes, 46 seconds — a father, a brother, a friend, an unarmed Black man was murdered on the street, in broad daylight. The death of George Floyd also brought similar tragedies, like that of Breonna Taylor, into public light. “What we’ve been doing needs to be acknowledged as a failure,” said Norm Stamper, a former police chief in Seattle, who said he made some of the same missteps while trying to contain the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle in 1999, when tear gas unleashed by officers triggered an escalating backlash. George Floyd struggled, pleading for his life: “I can’t breathe,” until he drew his final breaths, calling for his mother. Multiple reports said these projectiles injured people, including the homeless man in a wheelchair.