US: Curfew imposed in New York amid protests over Floyd's death

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio recently revealed that New York City will be put under curfew from June 1, 11 pm (local time) onwards. As per reports, the curfew is being implemented after 3 consecutive days of rioting and violent protests. The curfew will also be accompanied by an increased police presence. As per the order issued by the Mayor, the curfew will be from 11 pm till 5 am.

Citywide Curfew coupled with increased police presence

According to a series of tweets by Bill de Blasio, the mayor has spoken to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the curfew has been implemented for everyone’s safety. In addition, the NYPD will also increase its presence in areas that have been particularly subject to violence, such as Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn.

As per reports, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement said that there were people who wished to derail and hijack the current protests regarding the death of George Floyd. He said, “I stand behind the protestors and their message, but unfortunately there are people who are looking to distract and discredit this moment”.

Read: Police Cars Burn, Windows Shatter As Protests Roil New York

Read: More Protests Roil New York, Mayor Blasio Pleads For Calm

The Governor added that the violence and looting during the protests have been bad for New York City, the state and the entire national movement has threatened to undermine the people from the right cause. In a separate statement, the Governor added that the city’s police force would be doubled from its current level.

Read: New York Police, Protesters Clash At Floyd Demonstration

Read: New York Protesters Demand Action Over Floyd's Death

Tech companies taking a public stand

Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Snapchat developer Snap Inc (SNAP.N) have decided to follow companies like Intel Corp (INTC.O), Netflix Inc (NFLX.O), Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google, International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) and Nike Inc (NKE.N) in their condemnation of racial inequality in the United States. 

Facebook and Snapchat are the most recent companies to take a public stance against the discrimination faced by African-Americans. While these companies have now chosen to take a stance, tech companies like Facebook and Google in the past have themselves struggled with the notion of equality and the proportion of black engineers in the workplace remains much lower in regards to the US population.

George Floyd was an unarmed Africa-American who died in police custody in Minnesota, the US on May 25. His death in police custody has renewed the outrage against the treatment of African-Americans in the US.

(With inputs from ANI)(Image Credit ANI)