NYPD, Protesters Clash At Rally Over George Floyd Killing

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

Those are the dying words of George Floyd and Eric Garner — and a rallying cry for a crowd at the Barclays Center on Friday protesting the fear black Americans live with every police encounter.

Protesters chanted for a relatively-peaceful hour before NYPD officers clashed with the crowd.

A cloud of pepper spray descended over the rally, police armed with batons violently took down protesters and some rally goers set fires — all scenes that played out in real time on social media.

The chaotic scene moved beyond Barclays Center and into the streets of Fort Greene and nearby neighborhoods, as documented on a torrent of social media posts and media reports. At least one police van was set on fire, a NYPD officer was filmed violently shoving a woman to the ground and walking away, among many other violent scenes throughout the day and night.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters descended on Atlantic Avenue entrance to the Barclays Center. They chanted "George Floyd" in addition to cries of "Hands up! Don't shoot!" and "Black Lives Matter."

It was part of a growing wave of protests over the killing of George Floyd on Monday.

A viral video of Floyd's final moments shows him utter "I can't breathe" as Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd's neck.

Those three words are very familiar for New Yorkers — Eric Garner spoke them in Staten Island as a NYPD officer placed him in a choke hold. Garner died and it took the NYPD five years to fire Eric Pantaleo, the officer who held Garner.

Chauvin was arrested and charged with murder on Friday, just hours before the Barclays Center rally organized by Freedom Arts Movement, a self-described "community organization led by artists."

Their flyer for the protest instructs goers to "wear ppe, prepare to escalate and prepare to march."

NYPD officers gathered long before the protest's 6 p.m. start. Many cordoned themselves off from the crowd in front of the Atlantic Avenue entrance, keeping their distance.

Manny Brown, a protester who traveled from Harlem, looked at the crowd early in the rally and marveled at the positive feelings.

"This is love, this is unity," he said.

It's a similar feeling expressed by Darnelle Dasne, also before the atmosphere turned. Seeing the crowd gathered in solidarity was an emotional experience, she said.

Dasne is black and lives in Crown Heights. She has had police officers stop and question her as she walked her dog, she said. She worries about her son every day.

"I have an 18-year-old black boy, I have an 18-year-old queer son," she said. "Every time he goes out I worry."

The peace, such as it was, didn't last at the protest. Soon, police began clashing with the crowd, spreading fear across the Barclays Center.

Assembly Member Diana Richardson was among the protesters who was pepper sprayed, according to video posted by a WNYC reporter. Her eyes were red as she said she was there to peacefully protest.

"This is uncalled for," she said.

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie tweeted he too was pepper sprayed, as well as handcuffed alongside Richardson.

Police arrested so many protesters at Barclays they called in MTA buses to transport buses, only to have the bus union refuse to drive them, Vice reported.

The scene dwarfed that of Thursday, when NYPD officers arrested dozens of protesters in Union Square. It more resembled other scenes across the country that day when police dramatically abandoned a precinct in Minneapolis amid growing unrest.

Before the Brooklyn protest, people took to social media to report they saw NYPD officers massing in front of Barclays. Several posters pointed out most officers, at a minimum, were not wearing masks that doctors deem necessary to stop the new coronavirus' spread.

The large police presence sparked fears of mass arrests.

"Not only big police presence by the Barclays Center but an array of Corrections vans and buses—they’ve clearly prepared to make a lot of arrests," wrote Twitter user Joshua Leifer.

Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that police officers had a very clear instruction: respect peaceful protest.

He later returned to Twitter as Friday shifted into Saturday, and violence suffocated Brooklyn.

"We have a long night ahead of us in Brooklyn," he said.