1:57
- ABC News
- June 12, 2020
How to protest George Floyd's death more safely
Law enforcement also has a role to play in stopping COVID-19's spread.
1:57
While protesters should continue to take personal responsibility for slowing the spread of COVID-19 by wearing masks, using hand sanitizer and getting tested, law enforcement also has a duty to stop the spread, Beletsky said.
Police tactics like kettling, mass arrests, and using tear gas and pepper spray, which cause coughing, increase the risk that the virus will spread during protests, experts say.
There's also the issue of police officers themselves not wearing face masks, including in New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.
\"I’m frustrated by it, too,\" New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told WNYC, when asked why officers in the city weren't wearing masks.
\"The policy is police officers are supposed to wear face coverings in public, period,\" he said.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/police-01-as-gty-200611_hpEmbed_3x2_384.jpg\")
\"It’s indicative of this toxic culture in policing, where people just are not taking precautionary measures,\" Beletsky said. \"There’s a sense that police officers are somehow invincible.\"
Police officers are far from immune to coronavirus. At least 45 members of the New York City Police Department who were infected with the virus have died.
\"It not only shows total disregard for the individual health of the protesters, but it's also a huge mistake from an occupational safety standpoint,\" Beletsky said. \"This is an illustration that police culture tends to think of officers as exceptional and above the rules.\"
While a few health departments, including New York City's and Minnesota's, have published guidance for protesters on demonstrating safely in recent days, countless others have remained silent.
\"I think there’s a very difficult dynamic where stating any support for protests or creating any infrastructure to help protesters or take care of protesters is seen as anti-police,\" Beletsky said.
That proved true in Asheville, North Carolina, last week, when the police department attacked a medical tent that was set up for protesters and staffed by health workers.
Officers in riot gear stabbed water bottles with knives and destroyed $700 worth of supplies, including bandages and saline solution, Sean Miller, head of communications for the medical team and a student at the University of North Carolina Asheville told the Asheville Citizen Times.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/police-01-usa-as-200611_hpEmbed_3x2_384.jpg\")
\"I am aware of the incident involving officers destroying the medical supplies of demonstrators, including water bottles, food, and other supplies,\" Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer wrote on Facebook.
\"This was a disappointing moment in an otherwise peaceful evening.\"
Tune into ABC at 1 p.m. ET and ABC News Live at 4 p.m. ET every weekday for special coverage of the novel coronavirus with the full ABC News team, including the latest news, context and analysis.
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