State of Texas: Protests get attention and response from state leaders скачать в хорошем качестве

State of Texas: Protests get attention and response from state leaders

AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Gov. Greg Abbott has passionately spoken against the events that happened with George Floyd in Minneapolis calling Floyd’s death in police custody “horrific.” “My first response is one of anger because what happened to George Floyd is horrific. Should never happen…we need to make sure nothing like this happens in the state of Texas,” Gov. Abbott said. “There is a reason why people are angry and protesting about this. It’s part of the United States of America where people have a First Amendment right to voice their complaints about actions like this. At the same time, we need to make sure the protests remain free from violence, from vandalism because the First Amendment does not authorize someone to throw a brick through a glass window and destroy somebody’s property. That’s exactly why we have law enforcement out to make sure that all protests remain peaceful.” Protests against police brutality and racism have continued throughout the country over the last week since Floyd’s death on May 25, ranging from peaceful demonstrations to incidents of violence, vandalism and looting. Gov. Abbott says Texas lawmakers will be proactive on crafting new legislation related to police brutality, saying the work starts now before session begins in January 2021. “Now is the time for legislators to start bringing up ideas, proposing ideas, testing those ideas with their fellow legislators and they will get a feel for the possibility of being able to pass meaningful legislation,” Gov. Abbott said. Police in Austin and other Texas cities at times used force against protestors. That including using tear gas, pepper spray, and bean bag rounds, so-called less-lethal force. During an emergency Austin City Council meeting on Thursday, Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley explained that beginning this week, APD will no longer use bean bag rounds during crowd situations. When asked about Brad Levi Ayala, the 16-year-old who was shot in the head by a less lethal round at a protest this past weekend, Manley said: “I will speak to some immediate changes to our deployment to protests this week: and that that the deployment of bean bag ammunition will not be used in a crowd situation. It is still an appropriate tool in other circumstances so it is still approved for use however not in crowd situations.” The announcement comes after several Austin protesters reported injuries at the hands of bean bag rounds. MORE: Austin protesters explain moment when they were hit with APD bean bag rounds Sixteen-year-old Ayala underwent neurological testing after being shot. A video of the Saturday incident showed the teen collapsing after being shot while standing on the berm along Interstate 35 near Eighth Street. Ayala’s brother spoke at Austin City Council’s virtual meeting on Thursday. Edwin Ayala told the elected officials and Manley that Brad had just had a birthday — and now he’s in the hospital. “He was so kind! He still is,” said Edwin Ayala. “He’s in so much pain… We hope he’s going to recover, but we just didn’t know we thought he was going to die.” “I’ve seen the video where he is standing and it appears as though he is struck in that video that I’ve seen on social media with a less-lethal impact munition in the head, in the forehead,”Manley said on Monday. Meanwhile, a 20-year-old man, Justin Howell, was also hit in the head by APD — putting him in critical condition over the weekend. This incident was caught on Austin’s HALO camera system, which is designed for APD to monitor events downtown.