Merrick Protests Grow After Confrontation

MERRICK, NY — Thousands of people marched through Merrick Thursday in the town's largest demonstration so far this week against police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
Protesters marched on the Southern State Parkway, forcing police to close it to traffic. The parkway was reopened around 10:25 p.m.

"The protest was peaceful with no injuries and no arrests," New York State Police said in a statement.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said that there were about 6,000 protesters on Thursday. "To the peaceful protesters, I say thank you," she said. "To the police officers that have remained calm, professional and focused, thank you. The last few days have really reinforced that we have the best police department in this country."

Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said that he and his officers were with the protesters every step of the way, making sure thing stayed peaceful. He said that while the protesters were loud and disruptive, they did not cause the problems that have been plaguing other areas.

"If you bring violence and criminal mischief to Nassau County, we will enforce the law," Ryder said. "If you're going to peacefully protest, I don't need to draw a line in the sand and stop a group of thousands trying to get past me. That's confrontational, and that's going to cause a problem.

"There are a lot of unhappy people here this morning, and I'm one of them," Ryder later added. "I didn't want to go through what we went through yesterday, but it was peaceful. And we were able to get through it. And if none of my cops get hurt, none of the people in my community get hurt and nothing gets damaged, I take that as a win."

The Black Lives Matter protesters first came to Merrick on Tuesday, where they were met with opposition by a group of white residents who tried to block them from marching. The residents were reportedly worried about looting and violence after false information was circulated on social media. Some residents yelled "Go west!", urging the protesters to head toward Freeport, which has a diverse population. Merrick is more than 90 percent white.

Thursday's protest was organized in response to Tuesday's demonstration.

There were 20 protests around the county as of Thursday morning, according to Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. No arrests had been made at any of them, and there was no property damage.