Cuomo: "We have a moment here where we can make change"
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that protests in the wake of George Floyd's death continued across the state on Friday and that they were primarily peaceful.
He touted proposed legislation to address police reform in the state. The "Say Their Name" agenda is made up of four cornerstones: make police disciplinary records transparent, ban chokeholds, make false 911 calls based on race hate crimes, and give police murder investigations to the state attorney general.
"We have a moment here where we can make change," Cuomo said.
Cuomo said the police officers who pushed an elderly man to the ground by police officers in Buffalo this week would be "held accountable," and added that he expected the attorney general to publish a report on the incident in the coming weeks.
Video shows the man bleeding from his head after hitting the pavement.
When asked about the situation in Buffalo, Cuomo said that it was imperative to hold all police officers accountable for unwarranted violenced.
"A police officer who acts wrongfully will be called to task," Cuomo said. "Police have to do their jobs, but they don't have the right to abuse, to hurt, to use unnecessary force. And they're going to be held accountable."
Cuomo also announced Saturday that the state reported its lowest daily number of coronavirus deaths — 35 — since a pandemic was declared in March.
Cuomo said he would accelerate the opening of places of worship in "phase two" of reopening, allowing for 25% occupancy with social distancing. He also said he would sign an executive order to ban price gouging of personal protective equipment.