Two US police hospitalised after car drives into them as protests continue

2 June 2020, 08:45

Car drives into police in Buffalo, New York, as protests continue

Two US police officers have been hospitalised after a car was driven into them as George Floyd protests stretch into a second week.

Video footage posted on social media, showed officers in Buffalo, New York, at around 9.30pm pushing protesters back along a road.

A man being interviewed by a man with a TV camera can then be seen being pushed to the ground by officers as they advance on the road.

Other officers can be seen using batons to disperse the crowd.

But then the sound of firearms can be heard, before an SUV drives into the crowd of officers, causing them to scatter.

At least one appears to go below the wheels, before the car then drives around an armoured vehicle and speeds off.

The two officers have not been named. One was a New York State officer who has sustained serious injuries and the other is a Buffalo Police Department officer.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted later that the suspected driver and his passengers have been taken into custody.

Buffalo Police spokesman Michael DeGeorge said two people were shot during Monday's protests, although it is not know if the bullets came from police or protesters.

Protests and riots across the US have now raged into their seventh day following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after his neck was knelt on by a white officer for almost nine minutes.

An autopsy has declared his death a homicide, "caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain."

Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on his neck, has since been charged with third-degree murder

Chauvin ignored Mr Floyd's cries of distress, during which he could be heard saying: "I can't breathe."

The other three officers at the scene were, like Chauvin, fired the day after the incident but have not been charged.

Donald Trump seemingly inflamed tensions further last night, by threatening to deploy the US military into states which do not quell the unrest within their borders.

Mr Trump made the announcement from the White House Rose Garden to a backdrop of noisy demonstrations and what appeared to be explosions from outside the building

Mr Trump called himself "the president of law and order" as he mapped out the historic measures he would introduce to deal with the unrest.

"First, we are ending the riots and lawlessness that has spread throughout our country. We will end it now," he said.

"Today I have recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets."

He continued: "If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.

"We cannot allow the righteous cries and peaceful protesters to be drowned out by an angry mob."