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Protests planned this weekend in Coxsackie, Troy, and Clifton Park
Jun 06, 2020 12:03 am
There are three more protests planned locally later this weekend about the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. There will be demonstrations in Coxsackie, Troy, and Clifton Park. In Coxsackie on Sunday, organizers Tyler Clark, who lives in Coxsackie according to his Facebook page, and Elisabeth Morehouse, who went to Coxsackie-Athens High School, are inviting people to meet from 4 to 7 p.m. at The National Bank of Coxsackie, next to Stewart’s and Paul’s, on the corner of Route 9W and 385. The “Troy Rally for Black Lives” will be held at 2 p.m., June 7 at Riverfront Park. This is the first protest in that city since the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police, and the Times Union reports that Troy officials are preparing for the worst. "Law enforcement sources said the Troy Police Department’s riot gear was brought out of storage to the station," Kenneth C. Crowe II reports. Several law enforcement officials refused comment. Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said at his daily coronavirus update that, “We expect, I think that’s a key word, expect it will be a positive experience and it will be peaceful and calm. We’re not going to put up with stuff that happened in other cities and states.” Many storefront windows in downtown Troy were covered with plywood, some painted with colorful murals. The city of Watervliet has implemented a curfew June 7 from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. June 8. Then on June 8 there is another First Amendment display in Clifton Park. An organizer helping students at Shenendehowa High School put together the Black Lives Matter march there on June 8 said the teens who are planning the event feel intimidated by town officials and the State Police, the Times Union reports. Jamaica Miles, of All of Us Community Action, said teen-agers are upset about calls from police who want to meet with them. “They are kids and they are scared. I’m a mom. They are visibly shaken. This is fear tactics. This is intimidation,” she said. Police said they called just to talk about protest details. “The purpose of the meeting was to work with the organizers on a plan that would ensure everyone’s safety,” State Police spokesperson Trooper Kerra Burns said.