New York attorney refuses to prosecute peaceful curfew violaters

Protesters arrested in Manhattan for low-level crimes such as disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly will not be prosecuted, a district attorney said Friday, in a boost for the demonstrators.

Hundreds of arrests have been made in New York this week relating to the black rights protests that are sweeping the United States following the death of George Floyd.

Floyd died in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes during an arrest for a non-violent crime.

After protests on Sunday and Monday turned violent with widespread looting, New York’s mayor imposed a week of night-time curfews to try to keep demonstrators off the streets.

However, the curfew has failed to stop largely peaceful protests and police officers have issued hundreds of arrests for violating the stay-at-home order.

In a statement, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said his office “declines to prosecute these arrests in the interest of justice.”

He added: “The prosecution of protestors charged with these low-level offenses undermines critical bonds between law enforcement and the communities we serve.”

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has come in for severe criticism over the curfew and for defending the police’s heavy handed tactics, which has included baton charging protesters. (AFP)