The New York governor addressed the protests during his coronavirus press conferences over the weekend.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is declaring his support for non-violent demonstrators marching against police brutality. Cuomo said during a coronavirus press conference on Friday that he stands "with the protesters" who are advocating for justice following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25.
"Enough is enough" Cuomo said, referring to instances of police brutality in the United States. "It is a continuum of cases and situations that have been going on for decades and decades and decades."
Cuomo went on to compare instances of police using excessive force against unarmed black men as "chapters in a book," and said the "title of that book is 'Continuing Injustice and Inequality in America.'"
"How many times have we seen the situation? The names change but the color doesn’t,” Cuomo added. "It’s this nation’s history of discrimination and racism. I also feel the outrage."
"I stand figuratively with the protesters,” he said, adding however that he stands "against the arson, the burglary and the criminality."
It was a sentiment he shared again at Sunday's coronavirus briefing when he pleaded for an end to the sizable escalation of violence seen at protests around the country over the weekend.
"Violence never works," Cuomo said. "It dishonors Mr. Floyd's death. Mr. Floyd was not violent. Mr. Floyd was compliant. Mr. Floyd wasn't even charged or accused of a violent crime. There was no violence. That's what makes the killing more outrageous."
"When you are violent it creates a scapegoat to shift the blame," the governor continued. "It allows the president of the United States to tweet about looting rather than murder by a police officer. It allows the federal government to politicize what is going on and come up with theories blaming the left and the extreme left that only furthers the politics of division."
Cuomo has also announced that he has tasked Attorney General Letitia James to oversee an investigation into police conduct amid the protests in New York, and expects to see a report within a month.
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