George Floyd protests spread nationwide
shaheennews
New York governor and NYPD praise officers who knelt with peaceful protesters
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea have praised a video of police officers kneeling with protesters in the city on Sunday.
The video, shot by Aleeia Abraham in Jamaica, Queens, shows police officers kneeling with demonstrators during a march calling for justice for George Floyd.
“This is how change begins,” Cuomo said on Twitter, retweeting the video clip.
Shea also commented on the video on Twitter, saying, “We need more of this, to see and hear each other, to work together, to recognize that our differences are our strength.”
He also commented on a photo on Twitter showing an interaction between a peaceful protester and a NYPD officer.
“There so many more moments like this out there that are being overshadowed. This image embodies the true spirit of NYers & the men and women of the NYPD — everyday people striving for a unified NYC,” Shea said of the photo.
Some context on the video: On Sunday, several hundred people held a peaceful march in Queens, close to the 103rd police precinct.
In the video, the protesters are kneeling, and a pastor invited officers to come into the circle and kneel with them — which was greeted with cheers from the crowd.
Abraham said she’d never seen police do that in all her years of activism, or even on television at other protests — but warned that “what we’re really looking for is action.”
“I’ll be even more impressed when we’re not stepped on and gunned down. That’s the moment I’m looking for.”
