Officials Demand Answers On Arrested George Floyd Protesters

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Scores of police brutality protesters ended up in handcuffs or jailed by NYPD officers — and what many are reporting isn't pretty.

Protesters have been detained for longer than 24 hours, held in overcrowded cells and not given personal protective equipment, food, water or medical care, according to a letter written by city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Council Members Brad Lander and Keith Powers.

They sent the letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea demanding answers about arrested protesters.

"The outrage that has prompted recent protests and has sustained racial justice movements for decades is further compounded when family members do not know where their loved ones are being detained and the conditions within which they are being held," they wrote. "Further,
the complete lack of access to information and answers, by elected officials, lawyers, and the general public, heightens New Yorkers’ belief that the NYPD is beyond reform."

Williams and Lander, who represents Park Slope, have attended several protests and acted as peacemakers between demonstrators and NYPD looking to break up marches after the city's much-criticized curfew.

The trio heard accusations about poor conditions, including the use of force against pregnant protesters, from constituents, they wrote. They tried to make an impromptu inspection of sorts but were shuffled between police facilities until they were let into 1 Police Plaza, the letter states.

"While no one was being held at 1 Police Plaza during the time of our short
visit, we remain concerned about the process by which New Yorkers are being arrested and arraigned and the conditions inside facilities," they wrote.

Their list of questions include where the arrested protesters are being processed, how many are in each facility, are they given access to phones to call lawyers and family members, what medical care are they given and if interrogations by NYPD Counterterrorism and FBI took place.

Read the letter in full here.