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Protest Updates: Atlanta Officer’s Disciplinary Records Released Demonstrations Force America to Reckon With Contentious Past
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This briefing has ended.
The anger in the days after George Floyd’s killing is fueling a national movement to topple perceived symbols of racism and oppression in the United States, as protests over police brutality against African-Americans expand to include demands for a more honest accounting of American history.
In Portland, Ore., demonstrators protesting police killings turned their ire to Thomas Jefferson, toppling a statue of the founding father who also enslaved more than 600 people.
In Richmond, Va., a statue of the Italian navigator and colonizer Christopher Columbus was spray-painted, set on fire and thrown into a lake.
And in Albuquerque, tensions over a statue of Juan de Oñate, a 16th-century colonial governor exiled from New Mexico over cruel treatment of Native Americans, erupted in street skirmishes and a blast of gunfire before the monument was removed on Tuesday.
Across the country, monuments criticized as symbols of historical oppression have been defaced and brought down at warp speed in recent days. The movement, which initially set its sights on Confederate symbols and examples of racism against African-Americans, has since exploded into a broader cultural moment, forcing a reckoning over issues such as European colonization and the oppression of Native Americans.
“We’re at this inflection point,” said Keegan King, a member of Acoma Pueblo, which endured a massacre of 800 or more people directed by Oñate, the brutal Spanish conquistador and colonial governor. The Black Lives Matter movement, he said, had encouraged people to examine the history around them, and not all of it was merely written in books.
The debate over how to represent the uncomfortable parts of American history is not new, but the extent of the monument-toppling in recent days raises new questions about whether it will result in a fundamental shift in how history is taught to new generations.
An Air Force sergeant linked to the antigovernment “boogaloo” movement and another man were accused on Tuesday of a shooting in Oakland, Calif., last month that left a federal security officer dead and another gravely wounded outside a courthouse. The F.B.I. said they were not protesters but had used the recent demonstrations against racial injustice as a cover to attack law enforcement.
“They came to Oakland to kill cops,” John F. Bennett, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I. in San Francisco, said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo, 32, was accused of firing an assault-style rifle from the open back door of a moving vehicle and gunning down Dave Patrick Underwood, 53, the federal officer killed in the attack, and gravely wounding a second officer. He was charged on Tuesday with murder and attempted murder.
The driver of the van, Robert Alvin Justus Jr., 30, who had met Sergeant Carrillo on Facebook, was charged with aiding and abetting the murder of Mr. Underwood and attempted murder of the second officer.
Evidence tied Sergeant Carrillo to the boogaloo movement, an extremist ideology that seeks to bring about a second civil war to overthrow the United States government. He had expressed his allegiance to the movement by writing with his own blood on the hood of a white Toyota Camry he had carjacked.
He was arrested June 6 after a gun battle with Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputies that left one deputy dead. He has already been charged in that case.
Sergeant Carrillo is the latest person tied to the movement to be arrested in recent weeks. All of them have sought to exploit protests — first against the coronavirus lockdowns and then around the death of George Floyd — to accelerate their apocalyptic vision.
The term boogaloo, initially derived as an inside joke from the 1984 cult film “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo,” is used as shorthand on internet forums for a brewing second civil war.
The former Atlanta Police Department officer who fatally shot an African-American man after a confrontation outside a fast-food restaurant had been issued a written reprimand in 2016 for another use-of-force incident involving the use of a firearm, according to records released by the department.The former Atlanta Police Department officer who fatally shot an African-American man after a confrontation outside a fast-food restaurant had been issued a written reprimand in 2016 for another use-of-force incident involving the use of a firearm, according to records released by the department.
The disciplinary history of the former officer, Garrett Rolfe, who was fired this weekend after the shooting, does not include details of the 2016 use-of-force case, or a number of other incidents he was involved in since being hired in 2013. The disciplinary history of the former officer, Garrett Rolfe, who was fired this weekend after the shooting, does not include details of the 2016 use-of-force case, or other incidents he was involved in since being hired in 2013.
These include four citizen complaints, which resulted in no disciplinary action, and five vehicle accidents, which resulted in an “oral admonishment” in 2014 and a written reprimand in 2018.These include four citizen complaints, which resulted in no disciplinary action, and five vehicle accidents, which resulted in an “oral admonishment” in 2014 and a written reprimand in 2018.
Mr. Rolfe’s record also includes an August 2015 episode involving the discharge of a firearm, but there is no record of any disciplinary action taken in that case.Mr. Rolfe’s record also includes an August 2015 episode involving the discharge of a firearm, but there is no record of any disciplinary action taken in that case.
The department also released a file that showed no previous disciplinary record for Devin Brosnan, the other officer who responded to the fast-food restaurant Friday night after an employee called 911 and complained that Rayshard Brooks, 27, appeared to be intoxicated and asleep, and was blocking the drive-through lane. The department also released a file that showed no previous disciplinary record for Devin Brosnan, the other officer who responded to the fast-food restaurant on Friday night after an employee called 911 and complained that Rayshard Brooks, who appeared to be intoxicated and asleep, was blocking the drive-through lane.
Officer Brosnan, who joined the force in June 2019, has been placed on administrative duties pending the outcome of an investigation.Officer Brosnan, who joined the force in June 2019, has been placed on administrative duties pending the outcome of an investigation.
The fatal shooting of Mr. Brooks prompted demonstrations throughout the weekend in Atlanta, including one on Saturday night in which the Wendy’s restaurant where the shooting occurred was burned down. The city’s police chief, Erika Shields, stepped down in the wake of the incident, and on Monday, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced major revisions to the department’s use-of-force policies. The fatal shooting of Mr. Brooks, 27, prompted demonstrations throughout the weekend in Atlanta, including one on Saturday night in which the Wendy’s restaurant where the shooting occurred was burned down. The city’s police chief, Erika Shields, stepped down in the wake of the incident, and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced major revisions to the department’s use-of-force policies.
Video recordings show the two officers engaged Mr. Brooks in a long conversation that appeared to be respectful, and gave him field sobriety and breathalyzer tests. The officers concluded that Mr. Brooks was intoxicated, and when they moved to handcuff him, Mr. Brooks resisted. The three men wrestled on the pavement, and Mr. Brooks emerged with one of the officer’s Tasers. He ran away and fired the Taser at Mr. Rolfe, who was chasing him close behind. Video recordings show that the two officers engaged Mr. Brooks in a long conversation that appeared to be respectful, and gave him field sobriety and breathalyzer tests. The officers concluded that Mr. Brooks was intoxicated, and when they moved to handcuff him, Mr. Brooks resisted. The three men wrestled on the pavement, and Mr. Brooks emerged with one of the officer’s Tasers. He ran away and fired the Taser at Mr. Rolfe, who was chasing him close behind.
It was at that point that Mr. Rolfe shot him. An autopsy report showed Mr. Brooks was shot twice in the back. It was at that point that Mr. Rolfe shot him. An autopsy report showed that Mr. Brooks was shot twice in the back.
The Fulton County district attorney, Paul Howard, is investigating the case, but has not yet made a determination as to whether the officers should be charged criminally. On Sunday, he told a CNN reporter that Mr. Brooks “did not seem to present any kind of threat to anyone, and so the fact that it would escalate to his death just seems unreasonable.” The Fulton County district attorney, Paul Howard, is investigating the case, but has not announced whether the officers should be charged criminally. On Sunday, he told a CNN reporter that Mr. Brooks “did not seem to present any kind of threat to anyone, and so the fact that it would escalate to his death just seems unreasonable.”
President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to encourage changes in policing, including new restrictions on chokeholds. But the order will have little immediate impact, and does not address calls from activists and protesters nationwide for broader action and a new focus on racism. President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to encourage changes in policing, including new restrictions on chokeholds, as Senate Republicans signaled that they were coalescing around a narrow set of law enforcement reforms. But the president’s order will have little immediate impact, and does not address calls from activists and protesters nationwide for broader action and a new focus on racism.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden and flanked by several uniformed police officials, Mr. Trump depicted police misconduct as rare and police officers as embattled American heroes who must be defended.Speaking in the White House Rose Garden and flanked by several uniformed police officials, Mr. Trump depicted police misconduct as rare and police officers as embattled American heroes who must be defended.
The order does not mandate any immediate action; rather, it lays out what a senior administration official called “guiding principles,” to be translated into specifics by the Justice Department and Congress. Mr. Trump said he was “encouraging police departments nationwide to adopt the highest professional standards to serve their communities.”The order does not mandate any immediate action; rather, it lays out what a senior administration official called “guiding principles,” to be translated into specifics by the Justice Department and Congress. Mr. Trump said he was “encouraging police departments nationwide to adopt the highest professional standards to serve their communities.”
Mr. Trump said the Justice Department will “prioritize” federal grants to police departments that follow “the highest training standards regarding the use of force.” He said that will include banning chokeholds except when a police officer’s life is in danger. Mr. Trump said the Justice Department would “prioritize” federal grants to police departments that follow “the highest training standards regarding the use of force.” He said that would include banning chokeholds except when a police officer’s life was in danger.
Mr. Trump said the administration is also “looking at” new nonlethal weapons. And he said police departments will need to share information about abuse complaints filed against officers who might move from department to department without the records accompanying them.
He added that the federal government would “provide more resources” for other kinds of professionals, like social workers, to accompany police officers on calls involving matters like mental health, substance abuse and homelessness.He added that the federal government would “provide more resources” for other kinds of professionals, like social workers, to accompany police officers on calls involving matters like mental health, substance abuse and homelessness.
Mr. Trump said that he met privately just before the event with the families of nine black men and women whose deaths have stoked protests. They included relatives of Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed near Brunswick, Ga., in February, as well as those of Botham Jean, Antwon Rose, Jemel Roberson, Atatiana Jefferson, Michael Dean, Darius Tarver, Cameron Lamb and Everett Palmer Jr. Mr. Trump said he met privately just before the event with the families of nine black men and women whose deaths have stoked protests. They included relatives of Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed near Brunswick, Ga., in February, as well as those of Botham Jean, Antwon Rose, Jemel Roberson, Atatiana Jefferson, Michael Dean, Darius Tarver, Cameron Lamb and Everett Palmer Jr.
Mr. Trump said he would “fight for justice for all of our people,” but he said nothing in his remarks about police racism, and scoffed at calls for major systemic changes to policing.Mr. Trump said he would “fight for justice for all of our people,” but he said nothing in his remarks about police racism, and scoffed at calls for major systemic changes to policing.
“I strongly oppose the radical and dangerous efforts to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police departments,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “Americans want law and order, they demand law and order.”“I strongly oppose the radical and dangerous efforts to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police departments,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “Americans want law and order, they demand law and order.”
At least 96 law enforcement agencies — many in large cities — used some form of tear gas against civilians protesting police brutality and racism in recent weeks, according to an analysis by The New York Times. This brief period has seen the most widespread domestic use of tear gas against demonstrators since the long years of unrest in the late 1960s and early ’70s, according to Stuart Schrader of Johns Hopkins University, who studies race and policing. At least 98 law enforcement agencies — many in large cities — used some form of tear gas against civilians protesting police brutality and racism in recent weeks, according to an analysis by The New York Times. This brief period has seen the most widespread domestic use of tear gas against demonstrators since the long years of unrest in the late 1960s and early ’70s, according to Stuart Schrader of Johns Hopkins University, who studies race and policing.
“Thousands and thousands of utterly ordinary people who thought they were going to an ordinary protest event are finding themselves receiving a really aggressive police response,” he said. “That itself is a bit horrifying. The police have actually succeeded in making people more angry.”“Thousands and thousands of utterly ordinary people who thought they were going to an ordinary protest event are finding themselves receiving a really aggressive police response,” he said. “That itself is a bit horrifying. The police have actually succeeded in making people more angry.”
Tear gas has long been used to disperse crowds during protests and riots, both nationally and internationally, despite being banned in warfare by the Chemical Weapons Convention.Tear gas has long been used to disperse crowds during protests and riots, both nationally and internationally, despite being banned in warfare by the Chemical Weapons Convention.
If used appropriately, it drives people to flee the gas, which irritates their eyes, skin and lungs without causing serious, long-term injuries in most. But in cases where law enforcement misuses the agent, it can cause debilitating injuries.If used appropriately, it drives people to flee the gas, which irritates their eyes, skin and lungs without causing serious, long-term injuries in most. But in cases where law enforcement misuses the agent, it can cause debilitating injuries.
The widespread use of tear gas has prompted pushback, with some lawmakers calling for a ban of its use in Massachusetts and New Orleans. Other cities, including Denver, Seattle, Dallas and Portland, Ore., have all temporarily banned the police from using tear gas.The widespread use of tear gas has prompted pushback, with some lawmakers calling for a ban of its use in Massachusetts and New Orleans. Other cities, including Denver, Seattle, Dallas and Portland, Ore., have all temporarily banned the police from using tear gas.
As Senate Republicans work on a police overhaul bill, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony Tuesday afternoon about racial discrimination and excessive use of force by the police.
The bill, which Republicans hope to introduce as soon as Wednesday, is the product of a struggle within their ranks over how and when to respond to mounting public pressure to address systemic racism in law enforcement.
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the lone black Republican in the chamber and the lead architect of the legislation, is pushing to hold a vote on the bill in the next few weeks, but Republican leaders have hinted that they would rather wait.
Across the Capitol, the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee is expected to approve a sweeping law enforcement overhaul measure on Wednesday and to push it through the full chamber before the end of the month.
That bill would make it easier to track and prosecute police officers for excessive use of force and remove immunity shields that protect them from liability for misconduct; mandate that lethal force be used only as a last resort; ban chokeholds and other neck-pressure tactics; and make some federal grants conditional on the adoption of anti-discrimination tactics and training. Mr. Scott’s measure in the Senate is expected to be far narrower.
Republicans called S. Lee Merritt, the lawyer for the family of Ahmaud Arbery, the black man shot while jogging unarmed in a coastal Georgia neighborhood, to testify at the hearing on Tuesday. Civil rights officials and academics, police union representatives and other local officials and attorneys from the Justice Department were also on the witness list.
The House of Representatives will vote later this month on statehood for the District of Columbia, Democrats announced on Tuesday, tapping into fresh anger over the Trump administration’s handling of street protests in the nation’s capital. The vote would be the first on the issue in more than a quarter-century.
More than 200 Democrats in Congress have signed on to statehood legislation, which gained momentum after Democrats secured a majority in the House in the 2016 elections. More recently, the Trump administration’s use of federal officers in the District to respond to Black Lives Matter protests, coupled with the health and economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic, have intensified calls for the District to gain the same rights — including voting representation in Congress — as the existing 50 states.
“Over the past few weeks, we saw further examples of why the District of Columbia’s lack of representation in Congress is so damaging,” said Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader. “We are the only free nation in the world whose capital doesn’t have voting representation in their parliament.”
Because Congress retains so much control over the District, Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, had few options earlier this month when the Trump administration deployed National Guard troops from other states in the city’s streets and used them to forcibly clear protesters out of Lafayette Park near the White House.
The statehood legislation, put forward by Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district’s nonvoting representative in the House, would create the “State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth,” with two seats in the Senate and one in the House like other states with small populations (it has about 700,000 residents, more than Wyoming or Vermont).
There would continue to be a federal district, but it would be reduced to the National Mall, the White House, Capitol Hill and some other federal property in the city.
The bill is expected to pass the House, but is unlikely even to be taken up by the Republican-led Senate. The District’s voters are overwhelmingly Democrats.
At the request of the mayor, the police chief of Richmond, Va., resigned on Tuesday, after officers reportedly fired chemical irritants and rubber bullets at protesters who had gathered outside Police Headquarters on Sunday and Monday.At the request of the mayor, the police chief of Richmond, Va., resigned on Tuesday, after officers reportedly fired chemical irritants and rubber bullets at protesters who had gathered outside Police Headquarters on Sunday and Monday.
The former chief, William C. Smith, was sworn in less than a year ago and has faced sharp criticism in recent weeks as protests erupted in the state capital. The former chief, William C. Smith, was sworn in less than a year ago and has faced sharp criticism in recent weeks as protests erupted in the state capital. Richmond, the former capital of the Confederacy, has been at the forefront of a national debate over whether to remove statues of Confederate leaders.
Michael Jones, a City Council member, called the harsh police response to the protests “unacceptable.” Another City Council member, Stephanie Lynch, said on Twitter that she had taken part in a demonstration on Sunday, and that the police had fired tear gas and rubber bullets at peaceful protesters.Michael Jones, a City Council member, called the harsh police response to the protests “unacceptable.” Another City Council member, Stephanie Lynch, said on Twitter that she had taken part in a demonstration on Sunday, and that the police had fired tear gas and rubber bullets at peaceful protesters.
In a news release, Mayor Levar Stoney said he had appointed Major William Jody Blackwell as the interim chief.In a news release, Mayor Levar Stoney said he had appointed Major William Jody Blackwell as the interim chief.
Mr. Stoney said he expected the Police Department to help reimagine its own role in the city, echoing calls across the country for police reform in the weeks since an officer killed George Floyd in Minneapolis. Mr. Stoney said he expected the Police Department to help reimagine its own role in the city, echoing calls across the country for police reform in the weeks since the police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Richmond, the former capital of the Confederacy, has been at the forefront of a national debate over whether to remove statues of Confederate leaders.
Last week, protesters in the city tore down a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacyk. Protesters also toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus this month and threw it into a nearby lake.
Gov. Ralph Northam ordered a statue in Richmond of Robert E. Lee to be removed, though his order faces legal pushback. A judge issued a temporary injunction in the case, preventing officials from moving forward with the governor’s order.
France has partly backtracked from banning chokeholds by law enforcement officers, after angry protests by police unions, which argued that the police needed the technique to safely carry out some arrests.
Christophe Castaner, the country’s interior minister, said this week that chokeholds would be banned after thousands of people across the country protested racism and police violence following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Mr. Castaner said police academies would no longer teach the technique, which involves putting pressure on the neck to subdue a person who is resisting arrest. He did not specify at the time whether officers already in the field would still be allowed to use it, and many police unions objected to banning it.
Frédéric Veaux, the national police chief, confirmed in a letter that the move would no longer be taught to new recruits in police academies. But he clarified that officers could still use it “with restraint and discernment” and “when circumstances require it” — in situations in which a person is aggressive or threatening — until a working group comes up with an alternative.
The group is expected to present its findings by September. Police officers are still allowed to grab suspects from behind to bring them to the ground.
Cédric Chouviat, a delivery driver, died in January shortly after a police stop in Paris that escalated, during which officers pinned him to the ground and, according to one witness, put him in a stranglehold.
Documents relating to the death of Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was fatally shot by three white Louisville police officers in March, are being withheld by the city, according to lawyers for Ms. Taylor’s mother.Documents relating to the death of Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was fatally shot by three white Louisville police officers in March, are being withheld by the city, according to lawyers for Ms. Taylor’s mother.
Protesters against police violence across the country have expressed rage over the death of Ms. Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician who was killed after police officers used a battering ram to force their way into her apartment in the middle of the night. The officers were executing a “no-knock” search warrant as part of a narcotics investigation.Protesters against police violence across the country have expressed rage over the death of Ms. Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician who was killed after police officers used a battering ram to force their way into her apartment in the middle of the night. The officers were executing a “no-knock” search warrant as part of a narcotics investigation.
Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired on the officers, hitting one of them in the leg. That officer and two others then fired back, hitting Ms. Taylor at least eight times. Whether the police identified themselves before bursting through the door is in dispute; Mr. Walker has said that he believed they were intruders. The city has since banned “no-knock” warrants.Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired on the officers, hitting one of them in the leg. That officer and two others then fired back, hitting Ms. Taylor at least eight times. Whether the police identified themselves before bursting through the door is in dispute; Mr. Walker has said that he believed they were intruders. The city has since banned “no-knock” warrants.
Tamika Palmer, the mother of Ms. Taylor, filed a wrongful-death suit in April against the three officers. Her lawyers, Lonita Baker, Sam Aguiar and Benjamin Crump, said on Tuesday that the mayor’s office had been directing other city agencies not to comply with their subpoenas related to the lawsuit.Tamika Palmer, the mother of Ms. Taylor, filed a wrongful-death suit in April against the three officers. Her lawyers, Lonita Baker, Sam Aguiar and Benjamin Crump, said on Tuesday that the mayor’s office had been directing other city agencies not to comply with their subpoenas related to the lawsuit.
They pointed to three missed deadlines on Friday: The Louisville coroner’s office failed to hand over its autopsy report, they said; the Louisville Metro Police Merit Board did not turn over personnel files for the three officers; and Mayor Greg Fischer did not supply all of his correspondence relating to the investigation into Ms. Taylor’s death. All three gave the records to the city counsel’s office but not to them, the lawyers said.They pointed to three missed deadlines on Friday: The Louisville coroner’s office failed to hand over its autopsy report, they said; the Louisville Metro Police Merit Board did not turn over personnel files for the three officers; and Mayor Greg Fischer did not supply all of his correspondence relating to the investigation into Ms. Taylor’s death. All three gave the records to the city counsel’s office but not to them, the lawyers said.
“Actions speak louder than words,” the lawyers said in a statement. “Of all the cities dealing with the tragedies of officer-involved shootings and violence inflicted upon black lives, Louisville’s administration has been the least transparent, the slowest and the most frustrating.”“Actions speak louder than words,” the lawyers said in a statement. “Of all the cities dealing with the tragedies of officer-involved shootings and violence inflicted upon black lives, Louisville’s administration has been the least transparent, the slowest and the most frustrating.”
A spokeswoman for the mayor did not respond to a request for comment.A spokeswoman for the mayor did not respond to a request for comment.
A previous subpoena filed by Ms. Palmer’s lawyers resulted in the release of a recording of the 911 call placed by Mr. Walker after the shooting, in which he told the dispatcher that “somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend.”
Louisville was roiled again on June 1 by another fatal shooting involving officers, that of David McAtee, the black owner of a barbecue restaurant who was killed when two police officers and two National Guard soldiers enforcing the city’s curfew opened fire.
Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia said on Tuesday that he would propose legislation to make June 19 — known as Juneteenth — a paid holiday for state workers.Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia said on Tuesday that he would propose legislation to make June 19 — known as Juneteenth — a paid holiday for state workers.
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates the day in 1865 when news of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved people in Texas. Virginia was the leading state in the Confederacy, whose capital was Richmond; Texas was its most remote member.Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates the day in 1865 when news of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved people in Texas. Virginia was the leading state in the Confederacy, whose capital was Richmond; Texas was its most remote member.
“This symbol, this holiday, is one step toward reconciliation,” the governor said on Tuesday. “It is a step toward the Virginia we want to be as we go forward.” He said he believed only one other state had made Juneteenth a paid holiday. “This symbol, this holiday, is one step toward reconciliation,” the governor said on Tuesday. “It is a step toward the Virginia we want to be as we go forward.” He said he believed that only one other state had made Juneteenth a paid holiday.
Mr. Northam, a Democrat, faced a wave of criticism and calls for his resignation last year after a photo in a 1984 medical school yearbook surfaced, showing him and another student in racist costumes — one in blackface and the other in a Ku Klux Klan outfit.Mr. Northam, a Democrat, faced a wave of criticism and calls for his resignation last year after a photo in a 1984 medical school yearbook surfaced, showing him and another student in racist costumes — one in blackface and the other in a Ku Klux Klan outfit.
The governor apologized, but declined to resign. Since then, he has focused much of his time on race-related issues. The governor apologized, but declined to resign. Since then, he has focused much of his time on race-related issues. During the news conference on Tuesday, he highlighted those efforts, including expanding a state commission on racial equity and removing a statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond.
During the news conference on Tuesday, he highlighted those efforts, including expanding a state commission on racial equity and removing a statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond. France has partly backtracked from banning chokeholds by law enforcement officers, after angry protests by police unions, which argued that the police needed the technique to safely carry out some arrests.
Gunfire broke out during a protest Monday night in Albuquerque to demand the removal of a statue of Juan de Oñate, the despotic conquistador of New Mexico whose image has become the latest target in demonstrations across the country aimed at righting a history of racial injustice. Christophe Castaner, the country’s interior minister, said this week that chokeholds would be banned after thousands of people across the country protested racism and police violence following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
As dozens of people gathered around a statue of Oñate, New Mexico’s 16th-century colonial governor, a scuffle broke out between protesters trying to take it down and others defending it. In a skirmish that ensued, a man was shot, prompting police officers in riot gear to rush in. Mr. Castaner said police academies would no longer teach the technique, which involves putting pressure on the neck to subdue a person who is resisting arrest. He did not specify at the time whether officers already in the field would still be allowed to use it, and many police unions objected to banning it.
The injured man, who was not identified, was taken away to the hospital, where he was later listed in critical but stable condition. The police took into custody several members of a right-wing militia who were dressed in camouflage and carrying military-style rifles. Frédéric Veaux, the national police chief, confirmed in a letter that the move would no longer be taught to new recruits in police academies. But he clarified that officers could still use it “with restraint and discernment” and “when circumstances require it” — in situations in which a person is aggressive or threatening — until a working group comes up with an alternative.
On Tuesday, the authorities in Bernalillo County filed a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon against the man with the gun, identified as Steven Baca Jr. The group is expected to present its findings by September. Police officers are still allowed to grab suspects from behind to bring them to the ground.
“We are receiving reports about vigilante groups possibly instigating this violence,” Chief Michael Geier of the Albuquerque Police Department said on Twitter Monday night. “If this is true will be holding them accountable to the fullest extent of the law, including federal hate group designation and prosecution.” Cédric Chouviat, a delivery driver, died in January shortly after a police stop in Paris that escalated, during which officers pinned him to the ground and, according to one witness, put him in a stranglehold.
The protest turned into pandemonium after the shooting, as protesters screamed and dove for cover and police officers attempted to secure the scene. Reporting was contributed by Maggie Astor, Mike Baker, Aurelien Breeden, Emily Cochrane, Michael Crowley, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Richard Fausset, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Neil MacFarquhar, Bill Marsh, Sarah Mervosh, Campbell Robertson, Simon Romero, Anjali Singhvi, Kate Taylor, Lucy Tompkins and Will Wright.
The police used chemical irritants and stun grenades to “protect officers and detain individuals involved in the shooting,” Gilbert Gallegos, a police spokesman, said. “The individuals were disarmed and taken into custody for questioning.”
Hours later, Mayor Tim Keller announced that the Oñate statue would be removed until “the appropriate civic institutions” could determine how to proceed.
There were clashes between police and protesters in other cities on Monday night. In Richmond, Va., the police used a chemical irritant, flash grenades, and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of protesters gathered around the police headquarters, The Washington Post reported. It was the second night in a row that the police had used tear gas outside the building against protesters who were angry over an incident on Saturday in which a police vehicle hit several demonstrators. (No one was seriously injured in that incident, according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch.)
The police in Portland, Ore., reported firing crowd-control munitions, but not tear gas, to break up a demonstration after some people threw glass bottles and other projectiles at officers. (The Oregonian said the munitions were stun grenades.)
And in Nashville, 21 protesters were arrested at a demonstration at the State Capitol, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said. Protesters have been rallying at the Capitol since Friday, demanding the removal of Confederate monuments from the building, among other things.
In the fall of 1870, Guilford Coleman, a black man, was abducted from his home in Alabama, beaten to death and thrown into a well for having voted at a political convention to nominate a Republican governor. The message was received, according to local newspaper accounts: Those in favor of Reconstruction dared “not canvass the district, lest they lose their lives.”
Mr. Coleman’s murder, one of thousands carried out by white mobs after the Civil War, is documented in a new report on violence in the Reconstruction era by the Equal Justice Initiative, a 31-year-old legal advocacy group based in Montgomery, Ala., that is dedicated to exposing the country’s legacy of lynching and white supremacist terror.
Reconstruction began after the end of the Civil War, and in its first years brought the registration of thousands of black voters and the election of hundreds of black officials. But it was met with fierce resistance, and, having been drained of resources, was abandoned in 1877.
An earlier report published in 2015 by the Equal Justice Initiative documented more than 4,400 lynchings of black people by whites in the 74 years following Reconstruction. The names of the victims were etched in stone and brought together in the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala. Since opening in 2018, the memorial and accompanying museum have drawn 750,000 visitors.
Reporting was contributed by Maggie Astor, Mike Baker, Aurelien Breeden, Emily Cochrane, Michael Crowley, Richard Fausset, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Bill Marsh, Simon Romero, Anjali Singhvi, Kate Taylor and Will Wright.