Unrest

For weeks, protestors took the streets of New York City to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. In NYC, reactions to the incident drew comparisons to Eric Garner, who died after being put in a chokehold by police on Staten Island in 2014, likewise sparking a national outcry and becoming a major event in the Black Lives Matter movement.

The NYPD confirmed more than 1,500 people arrested and dozens of injured cops since the protests started on May 28. As a result, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the city was placed under curfew from June 1 through June 7. Between May 29 and June 9, 2020, an estimated 450 businesses in New York City were looted or damaged during the civil unrest. The protests catalyzed efforts at police reform, leading to the criminalization of chokeholds during arrests, and other legislation.