Protests against police brutality after the death of George Floyd continued in New York state on Monday, with some cities seeing violent clashes with police.
WIVB-TV reports three cops were seriously injured in Buffalo Monday when an SUV plowed through a law enforcement group that included Buffalo Police, New York State Police Mobile Field Unit and the Special Operations Response Team. State police said Tuesday that a state trooper was run over by the Ford Explorer; another trooper and a Buffalo police officer were also struck by the vehicle.
All three were taken to the Erie County Medical Center and are in stable condition. The trooper who was run over suffered a shattered pelvis and a broken leg; the other two suffered minor injuries.
(Editor's Note: The following video does not show the officers being struck, but viewer discretion is advised.)
Video of the incident went viral, being viewed more than 3 million times as of Tuesday morning.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Monday night that the driver of the vehicle and passengers are in custody. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told WIVB that two people in the vehicle were shot and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries; a third was uninjured.
No charges have been announced. A criminal investigation is ongoing.
The Daily Beast reports several police officers were also hurt in New York City on Monday night. A video went viral allegedly showing a NYPD cop being struck by a speeding SUV in the Bronx; a New York City Police Department vehicle arrived moments later and puts the officer, whose condition is unknown, in the back.
Social media posts also appeared to show an injured police officer on Madison Avenue and another cop allegedly being attacked by two looters in the Bronx. Details of their condition have not been disclosed.
Thousands continued protesting Monday in multiple cities across the U.S. after Floyd died Memorial Day when a Minneapolis officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for nearly 10 minutes. A medical examiner ruled Monday that Floyd’s death was a homicide; Chauvin has been charged with manslaughter and fired, along with three other cops.
Some cities have seen demonstrations escalate into violence, with riots, looting and property damage.
Other rallies have remained largely peaceful; Syracuse protests turned into a dance party on Monday afternoon. Jaedan “JT” Hines, 19, of Syracuse, told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that he wanted to “have fun and... show others we’re not just a militant band of people marching.”
“The whole point of us marching is for people to hear us and to make our voices heard,” he said. “We were marching all day. We had fun along the way, but from the outside, it looks militant. It shows we’re unified and solid, but it has a drawback where people have to have their guard up. The dance party was to get people to loosen up.”
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