June 4 George Floyd protest news

While addressing plans to reform the Los Angeles police department earlier today, Mayor Eric Garcetti said he will not be increasing the police budget.

He explained that “this is bigger than just a budget,” and “it is time to move our rhetoric towards action to end racism in our society.”

Los Angeles Police Commission President Eileen Decker also announced that $100-150 million dollars of cuts from the LAPD's budget will be identified to further enhance community neighborhood policing.

Decker said the Commission would also:

Mayor Garcetti also addressed the importance of having a civilian oversight team for the police department.

A team of five unpaid volunteers appointed by the mayor will look at policies that guide the police department, oversee its operations, and review all officer-involved shootings, said Garcetti.

The commission and the police chief will have a public meeting every week where residents are given the opportunity to speak directly to the entire leadership of the department, said the mayor.

Nine days after the death of George Floyd, protesters are still out on the streets of major cities across America, even with curfews now in place.

Here are some of the latest developments today:

The Seattle mayor has announced an immediate end to the city's curfew, walking back her decision just yesterday to extend the curfew through the end of the week.

Mayor Jenny Durkan said on Twitter that the major change in policy was in response to a request from community leaders at a meeting she attended today with Police Chief Carmen Best.

“Chief Best believes we can balance public safety and ensure peaceful protests can continue without a curfew,” Mayor Durkan tweeted.

Reversing the extension: She had announced just yesterday that the curfew would be in effect every night all this week -- but the Seattle Police Department reported that it arrested only two people during protests on Tuesday.

All three former Minneapolis police officers who were arrested Wednesday on charges of aiding and abetting the murder of George Floyd will have their first court appearances on Thursday afternoon.

The three officers -- J. Alexander Keung, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao -- are set to appear before the judicial officer at 1:45 p.m. ET.

The hearings were pushed up by 45 minutes from their original schedule, according to court records. 

No official reason was given, but the original start times would have had the former officers appearing in court at the same time as a televised memorial for George Floyd in Minneapolis, to be attended by his family

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a press conference earlier today that he plans to lift the city’s curfew on Thursday.

Barring a bad night from tonight, the curfew will be lifted for the city of Los Angeles starting tomorrow, Garcetti said.

All ten million Los Angeles County residents have been under a curfew order for four consecutive nights.

The curfew tonight will began at 9 p.m. local time instead of 6 p.m., as had been the case for previous curfew orders. 

The later curfew is a reflection of the peaceful protests, as well as good policing, Garcetti said.

The curfew tonight will be in place until 5 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Speaking to CNN on Wednesday night, New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea praised peaceful protesters and said he was "sickened" by the video of George Floyd's death.

"We've had incredible crowds the last few days, and by far, overwhelmingly, it's people coming out, voicing their concern," he said. "It's very small groups (doing) vandalism, violence, things of that sort."

He added that police officers were "trying to have a softer touch as possible, hear people, see people. We continue to reinforce that we respect the rights of people to peacefully assemble."

The situation in New York: There are still thousands of people on the streets, he said -- primarily in Manhattan and Brooklyn, despite it being past the curfew time of 8 p.m. There is also some activity on the outer boroughs, and many groups are on the move and marching.

There have been some arrests, but far less than the past few days, he said. There were no incidents of looting reported tonight yet, but he cautioned that "the night is still young, it's a fluid situation."

On police excessive force: When asked about several incidents in the past week of NYPD officers seen using excessive force during the protests, Shea said every case was being investigated by the police internal affairs office.

"This is about a systematic issue. It's about racism, it's about opportunities. And I think that on the law enforcement side, we are well aware of this on the executive side and in leadership positions," he said.

He also referenced the video that captured George Floyd's last moments, saying it "sickened me, it turned my stomach ... It was just a disregard for human life."

He added that he had already been working to create changes in policy and procedures, and that a wider societal change was needed.

"We really have to do a little more and change the culture ... If this doesn't show us that we have to do better as a society, this is the time to come together."

George Floyd tested positive for the novel coronavirus in a test taken after his death, according to Hennepin County’s new autopsy report released earlier today. 

The post-mortem nasal swab was found to be “positive for 2019-nCoV RNA,” said the report, using another term for the type of coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker said the type of test performed for the autopsy, called PCR, can show a positive result “for weeks after the onset and resolution of clinical disease.” 

As a result, Baker said, “the autopsy result most likely reflects asymptomatic but persistent PCR positivity from previous infection” -- meaning the virus played no known role in Floyd’s death and he was unlikely to have been contagious.

At least 90 people were arrested in New York during tonight's protests, according to the New York police.

It's a far lower number than Tuesday night, when at least 280 people were arrested, according to the police.

NYPD Chief of Department Terrance Monahan said the night had been relatively peaceful with no looting. He also highlighted the difference between peaceful protests and the ones causing violence.