Mayor Bowser Calls Out Trump For Dividing Country

WASHINGTON, DC — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called out President Donald Trump for attempting to divide the nation. Her remarks came a day after 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside the White House to protest the death of a black man in Minneapolis in the custody of police.

"I call upon our city and our nation to exercise great restraint, even while our President tries to divide us," Bowser said, during a Saturday afternoon press briefing. "Our nation is grieving the murder of George Floyd and every black person who has been killed by an unjust and unfair system. We are grieving hundreds of years of institutionalized racism, systems that require black Americans to prove our humanity, just for it to be disregarded."

The demonstration in D.C. coincided with similar incidents across the country, including in Atlanta and New York City, in protest of Floyd's death.

A video released online shows Floyd, 46, struggling to breathe as a Minnesota police officer pressed his knee into his neck, while three other officers watched.

Derek Chauvin was the officer who was seen with his knee on Floyd's neck during an arrest Monday. Floyd later died after saying that he was struggling to breathe during the arrest, the video shows. The four officers were fired and, on Friday, agents with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension arrested Chauvin, charging him with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

On Friday, Bowser and Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham shared their reactions to Floyd's death in police custody. The chief couldn't see how placing a knee on a suspect's neck could ever be considered an appropriate use of force. Bowser said it was not something she or Newsham would stand for in the District.

"People are tired, sad, angry, and desperate for change, and we need leaders who recognize this pain, and in times of great turmoil and despair can provide us with a sense of calm and a sense of hope," Bowser said Saturday. "Instead, what we've got in the last two days from the White House is the glorification of violence against American citizens. What used to be heard in dog whistles we now hear from a bullhorn.

"To everyone hurting and doing our part to move this country forward, we will look to ourselves and our own communities for this leadership and this hope. Our power, we know, is in peace and our voices, and ultimately at the ballot box."

In response to the protest, President Trump took to Twitter Saturday, claiming the protests were organized by agitators and saying the Secret Service would unleash “the most vicious dogs, and the most ominous weapons, I have ever seen.”

“I thought the President’s remarks were gross, as I did when he said, 'If there’s looting, there will be shooting,'” Bowser said. “To make a reference to vicious dogs is no subtle reminder to African Americans of segregationists, who let dogs out on women, children, and innocent people in the South. Those of us who were alive then know it well from our history. And many who were alive then are just shaken that an American president would utter such words about his fellow Americans.”

Bowser was careful to not link Trump’s remarks to the cooperation between the District and federal law enforcement in response to Friday’s protest.

“We know that MPD, Secret Service, and Park Police are there to do a job,” she said. “They’re commanded by professionals and we expect them to act in a professional way.”

Newsham provided a situational update Saturday in how his department responded to Friday night's protest.

"MPD successfully facilitated demonstrations of over 1,000 people who peacefully marched for miles through our city last night," he said.

Demonstrators began to assemble around 5 p.m. Friday, at 14th and U Street Northwest. The protesters proceeded south down 14th Street to Lafayette Park, arriving about 7 p.m. Others joined the group as it marched to its destination, until the crowd reached an estimated 1,000 people in size. Demonstrators then proceeded down Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol, which they reached around 8 p.m. After circling around to the east side of the Capitol, the crowd began to dissipate at about 9 p.m.

A group of about 200 people marched back to Lafayette Park. Another group of about 300 made its way to the Chinatown area, before it disbanded around 11:30 p.m. The group in the park remained there until about 3:45 a.m.

"MPD did not make any arrests," Newsham said. "We did not have any reported uses of force and we did not have any injuries reported."

After the marches had ended, some of the protesters remained in Lafayette Park, which is in the federal jurisdiction of the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Park Police.

"Some of the agitators were throwing bricks and were deploying either mace or pepper spray," Newsham said.

MPD established a unified command center with the Secret Service and Park Police. Newsham remained in close contact with the MPD Incident Commander on the scene. He said the uniformed Secret Service had sufficient personnel to control their line.

Newsham confirmed that there were some skirmishes on the line in Lafayette Park, and MPD provided Secret Service with other equipment they did not have readily available, including helmets.

"I believe the unified command made good, tactical decisions," Newsham said. "I have spoken to my counterparts in leadership positions at the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division, and the U.S. Park Police, and they all agreed that sound, tactical decisions were made."

Some Secret Service Uniformed Division officers were injured during the demonstration, he confirmed.

"My police department in Washington, D.C., will always protect D.C. and all who live and visit here," Bowser said. "In fact, that's what we did yesterday and last night. No one needed to ask the Metropolitan Police Department to get involved, because we were already involved. Our police were doing their jobs from the start."

Also see ...

• DC Officials React To Death Of George Floyd In Minneapolis
• George Floyd: Bail For Ex-Officer Derek Chauvin Set At $500K
• George Floyd Death: Former Cop Derek Chauvin Charged With Murder
• Photos: Devastation In Minneapolis As Unrest Spreads Across U.S.