George Floyd Protests in N.Y.C.: Unrest in Brooklyn as de Blasio Appeals for Calm

Protesters angry over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis clashed with the police across Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan on Friday night in a series of chaotic skirmishes and standoffs that left people injured on both sides.

For the second night in a row, tensions flared in New York City, as thousands of people attended a demonstration at the perimeter of Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Some hurled bottles and debris at police officers, who responded with pepper spray.

An abandoned police van was set on fire and at least two other police vehicles were vandalized, their windows shattered, all in the Fort Greene neighborhood near the arena.

The protests and violence were part of a wave of demonstrations across the country in the wake of the death on Monday of Mr. Floyd, a black man who pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” while a white police officer pressed his knee into Mr. Floyd’s neck. The incident was captured on video.

“I’m just really tired of sitting at home and just doing nothing, basically watching this happen,” said Jason Phillips, 27, of Queens, who was at the Manhattan protest. “I need to be a part of history. I need to be a part of the change.”

Shortly before 11 p.m., Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter, “Our sole focus is de-escalating this situation and getting people home safe.” He promised a “full review of what happened tonight. We don’t ever want to see another night like this.”

The protests in New York City had begun peacefully on Friday afternoon, with hundreds chanting, “Black lives matter,” and, “We want justice,” around Foley Square in Lower Manhattan.

City Councilman Donovan Richards, a Queens Democrat who chairs the Council’s public safety committee, said the city’s black communities were feeling under siege by what they see as excessive policing.

“I’m feeling their growing tension,” said Mr. Richards, who is black. “It is difficult to be a black American at the moment. We are getting hit hard. We are seeing that our lives are not valued.”

The unrest grew hours later in Brooklyn. As protesters arrived at Barclays Center, police officers with twist-tie handcuffs hanging from their belts stood next to Department of Corrections buses and squad cars with lights flashing. A police helicopter and a large drone whirred in the hot air overhead.

People in the crowd chanted against the Police Department, clapped loudly and shook signs. To a row of police men and women, one woman held a mirror with red paint that read, “Look at yourself.”

Several signs said, “I can’t breathe.” Some demonstrators put their hands in the air and chanted, “Don’t shoot.” Then some began throwing debris at officers.

By midnight, several uniformed officers had been injured, said a police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give out information. One officer was punched on the nose, another lost a tooth during an altercation and a third was injured in a leg and was being treated for dislocation.

Dozens of protesters were seen being taken into custody at different rallies around Foley Square and in neighborhoods near the arena throughout the night. Videos posted online showed a demonstrator being beaten with batons as he was taken into custody. Another showed an officer punching a protester.

As that crowd scattered, people gathered in the streets in the nearby Fort Greene neighborhood, continuing to chant at the police.

A senior police official, who was also not authorized to provide information, said that between 50 and 100 people were arrested.

Justin Simone, 22, marched with a crowd of a few hundred protesters from Barclays to Classon and Madison Streets, where — chanting the names “George Floyd” and “Breonna Taylor,” a black woman fatally shot by three white officers in Louisville, Ky. — they tried to block traffic. Police officers with plastic shields dispersed them. Mr. Simone said he was protesting the police “because they get away with murder.”

“People need to be held accountable for what goes on,” he said. “We’re peaceful protesting. Everybody is practicing their First Amendment.”

The burned police van was still smoking near Fort Greene Park on Friday night after two Fire Department trucks closed the nearby water mains and pulled away. Protesters slammed its doors off their hinges, threw fireworks into the charred seats, flattened the tires and placed a sign down that read, “Black Lives Matter.”

By 10 p.m., riot police had descended on the neighborhood. A police official had described the scene in parts of the borough as “out of control.”

Friday’s altercations followed the arrests of 72 people the night before during a rally in Manhattan’s Union Square. Five of those arrested on Thursday night were facing charges of assaulting police officers, said the department’s highest-ranking officer, Chief Terence A. Monahan.

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Jo Corona, Sean Piccoli, William K. Rashbaum, Andy Newman Pia Peterson and Nate Schweber contributed reporting.