Thread by @BenFeibleman

Here is what I saw in Manhattan on the first night of curfew, from start to finish. (I'll be adding to this thread as I process images, so stay tuned) #GeorgeFloydProtests #nycprotest #BlackLivesMattter #NYPD

First off, it should be said that journalists are scared. They are afraid of protesters (on Saturday an older female journalist described getting mobbed and robbed), but better to lose your Leica than an eye at the hands of the police. See @KillerMartinis. nytimes.com/2020/05/30/us/…

News orgs are responding to that fear by decreasing presence. It's because of fear, it's because of a lack of protective equipment, it's because the president of the united states has put targets on their back by calling them "The Enemy of the People." rollingstone.com/politics/polit…

(Quick aside: if you don't think that's a problem and want argue nuances about "the media" and bias and #fakenews and your hatred of @CNN or @nytimes, get the f--k out of here you're not a serious person.)

On our previous outing, @GabrielaBhaskar and I observed numerous instances of unwarranted violence and force-escalation by the #NYPD, and I say that having been a Marine trained in non-lethal force, force-escalation/de-escalation, and riot control. 3 examples, incl. provocation:

Ex1: The multi-officer take-down of this black man in the purple shirt is startling when compared to his behavior. You can see how difficult it is for the press to document arrests in tight quarters. (After I got the footage, an officer shamed me for standing in a flower bed.)

Ex2: The film starts right after a woman pours milk on an officer. It was rude, seemingly random, and I felt bad for the officer. His anger was justified. Onlookers cry out "That's unnecessary!" Arrest? (necessary) Level of force? (unclear)

Ex3: Officer Leach (seen below) exercised a completely disproportionate level of aggression against just standing around talking to each other. I was personally on the receiving end of his lack of therapy in the form a two-hand baton check while clearly identified as "PRESS."

What I learned that night was that it's difficult to document your own assault, either because you are blindsided or because when someone assaults you, they get between you and your camera, meaning the moment of impact isn't on film, only the jostling afterwards.

The question of whether the @NYPDChiefofDept condones such disproportionate and casual use of force on citizens and journalists needs to be answered, which brings us to Officer Vincent D'Andraia and his commanders.

https://twitter.com/shaunking/status/1266594938143281152

After someone shouted "Yo, this dude hits women!" an officer (that the crowd believed to be D'Andraia) and his commander began shoving people hard. Things quickly erupted into violence, with some throwing glass bottles. Can anyone positively ID the officer or commander?

By the end of the night of 5/30, numerous police vehicles were left burned or otherwise destroyed, still in their parking spaces (see below). By 6/1 POTUS had told governors to "dominate" the protesters, and all signs pointed to violent confrontations with police