Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins says violence after Boston George Floyd protests result of ‘fed up’ black community
Peaceful protests on Sunday that devolved to destruction overnight are a result of a black community that is “fed up” with police brutality and the continued killings of unarmed black men in police custody that last week reached a boiling point with the death of George Floyd, the DA said.
“This burning rage that you’re seeing when you turn your TV on or just hear in my voice is real. People are fed up. And to the white community that is now waking up to see this rage: We have been telling you this forever,” Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said.
During a briefing in front of city hall on Monday, Rollins said she is “exhausted” with watching police officers — whose positions are funded by black tax dollars — “shoot us in the street as if we were animals.
“People are disgusted and outraged and they should be,” Rollins said.
Boston Police Commissioner William Gross focused on the legacy of the peaceful marches earlier in the day on Sunday that drew more than 20,000 people to Boston, calling them an homage to George Floyd that he is “proud of.”
“We know what’s going on in our great nation … the murder of George Floyd and decades of people dying. … It was happening back then, and it’s still happening now in voices have to be heard and black lives do matter,” Gross said.
“Unfortunately people showed up not with peaceful intent in mind. That’s not paying homage,” Gross said.
Gross described Sunday’s events — where protesters at one point sprayed bullets at a group of police officers — as “rough for a while out there.” The commissioner accused protesters of attacking police and hurling tear gas at officers. Fifty-three people were arrested and dozens of businesses from Back Bay to Downtown Crossing were vandalized and looted.
Many public officials — including Mayor Martin Walsh, Gov. Charlie Baker, Rollins and Gross — thanked police for their efforts on Sunday even as officers faced criticism online for some tactics.
Democratic Rep. Michael Connolly criticized police on Twitter for stirring violence by “violently dispersing the crowd” after a day of peaceful protests. The Boston Police Patrolman’s Association clapped back in a letter condemning Connolly’s tweet, calling it “brazen lies.”
“This shamefully fictitious effort by a sitting member of the General Court to besmirch and disparage the actions of the brave men and women of the BPD cannot stand,” the patrolman’s association wrote in the letter.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3eAJxNi
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