Community Corner
'Wild Night': Pregnant Woman Hurt, 2 Arrested At Shirley Protest
A mostly peaceful protest in Shirley over the death of George Floyd shut down roads and resulted in a pair of arrests.
SHIRLEY, NY — After what some called a "wild night" of loud and angry protesting in Shirley, two people were arrested and a pregnant woman was injured, police said.
The protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations across the country in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Suffolk County police said they responded to the protests in the area of William Floyd Parkway and Montauk Highway in Shirley Monday night. The protest moved down William Floyd Parkway, shutting the road from north of Sunrise Highway to the Seventh Precinct. Road closures stretched from Sunrise to the Long Island Expressway, police said.
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Two men were arrested and charged with obstructing governmental administration, police said. They were released with desk appearance tickets.
A pregnant woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries, police said. In a video of the event, people were heard screaming, "She's pregnant!" about the woman, who appears to have fallen. No other injuries were reported.
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When asked about reported plans by protesters who had planned to take over the Suffolk County 7th Precinct Police Station, police said the road was closed between the LIE and Sunrise Highway. While the precinct falls in that area, they were unable to confirm those reports.
View this post on InstagramPREVIEW,: A wild night for Suffolk County Finest after a more aggressive group of Protesters engaged with Suffolk County Police Officers. Protester in Shirley made there way North on William Floyd Parkway in an attempt to make it into the Suffolk 7th Precinct. Multiple 911 calls into police notified them of social media posts warning that protesters had plans to overtake the police station. Multiple officers from across Suffolk County setup a skirmish line at Moriches-Middle Island Road. For Nearly 2 hours officers held back Protesters from advancing down William Floyd Parkway. 2 Protesters were arrested by Suffolk Police after attempting to force there way past the line. A pregnant female was also injured in the chaos. At 10:00pm Police gave a warning of arrests if the Protesters didn't disperse. RAW VIDEO FROM THE INCIDENT WILL BE AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE IN THE NEXT 2 DAYS. Click Link In Bio To Subscribe & Be Notified When New YouTube Content is Released. #stringer #linews #suffolkpd #georgefloydprotest #newyorkprotest #protestersarrested #caughtoncamera
A post shared by Fully Involved Media Group LLC (@fullyinvolvedmediagroupllc) on Jun 2, 2020 at 1:26am PDT
Many took to social media to say that except for a few individuals, the protests were largely peaceful.
According to reports, protesters were told they would be arrested if they did not disperse; most reportedly complied.
One resident in the area told others to avoid the "big" protest taking place on the Montauk Highway from Smith Road to Van Buren Street and the William Floyd Parkway from Surrey Circle to Sunrise Highway.
According to that bystander, multiple police precincts and an emergency services unit were present, with authorities locking down the area, but police could not confirm that information.
(This video may include graphic language)
(Video courtesy Fully Involved Media Group, LLC)
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