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Syracuse Police Department will arrest any protester out past 8 p.m., Mayor Ben Walsh said at a press briefing Sunday. 

Walsh declared a citywide state of emergency and imposed an 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew for everyone except essential workers and reporters early Sunday after violence erupted at Saturday night’s protests. County Executive Ryan McMahon expanded the state of emergency to Onondaga County later that day.

Protesters that are in public after 8. p.m. are officially breaking the law and may face arrest, Walsh said at the briefing. SPD Chief Kenton Buckner will use his judgement on how to handle the crowds that are out in public after curfew, Walsh said. 

“In our experience, the vast majority of our community does the right thing and we expect they’ll do that under this current emergency order,” Walsh said. 

Syracuse was one of several cities across the country to see protests after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. Saturday’s peaceful protests in Syracuse escalated to violent clashes with police, store lootings and vandalized municipal buildings. 

The state and county police, who assisted SPD Saturday, plan to be at the protests tonight, Buckner said. Both Walsh and Buckner said they police handled Saturday night’s events well. 

SPD arrested six people for theft and disorderly conduct, Buckner said at the briefing. Police fired pepper spray balls that contained a smoke component and rubber bullets after people started damaging property, he said.

No officer suffered injuries from last night’s incidents, besides one who may need stitches for a cut, Buckner said. 

Buckner asked people who plan to protest tonight not to stay out later than 8 p.m. and to remain peaceful. He supports the protests, but will not allow violence and destruction of property, he said. 

Walsh said he supports peaceful protests, but looting and other criminal behavior drown out the message.

“We share in your frustration, we share in your anger, the things that happened to Mr. Floyd should not have happened,” Buckner said. “But we can’t damage our cities in the pursuit of justice.”

Published on May 31, 2020 at 5:48 pm

Contact Abby: akweiss@syr.edu | @abbyweiss_21