Authorities charged Black protesters in New York City with felonies at a rate five times higher than white protesters during the civil unrest that followed George Floyd’s death, according to a New York State Attorney General preliminary report released Wednesday.
Overall, more White people were arrested by New York police during the protests, accounting for 44% of the total arrests, Attorney General Letitia James said in the report. Black protesters accounted for 39% of all arrests.
However, Black protesters were charged with much more severe crimes than white protesters. Roughly 16% of Blacks arrested were charged with a felony compared to 3.5% of Whites, the report found.
Of the Latino protestors charged, about 8% were hit with felonies and 3.4% of Asians face felony charges.
The majority of felony arrests occurred on May 31, which saw the highest incidence of looting and property damage in New York, the report said.
Ms. James said that arrests dropped after the city imposed an 8:00 p.m. curfew. The vast majority of arrests occurred after 8:00 p.m., the report concluded.
All told, the NYPD made 2,087 protest-related arrests from May 28 through June 7, according to Ms. James.
The report also outlined complaints against the NYPD’s handling of the protest, including “indiscriminate use” of pepper spray, using batons, brandishing guns or driving bikes or police vehicles into crowds.
Ms. James also accused the NYPD of using “catch and release” tactics against reporters to prevent them from fully reporting on the protests and vowed an investigation into whether the NYPD should be the appropriate government agency to issue press credentials.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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