Governor Andrew Cuomo sent 200 state troopers to Rochester on Sunday to help Rochester Police and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office secure the community and prevent a repeat of Saturday night's unrest and looting.
Mayor Lovely Warren and County Executive Adam Bello made the request, saying the troopers will work with police and sheriff’s patrols and also suburban officers.
Mayor Warren says the Saturday demonstration against the death of George Phelps in Minneapolis was peaceful until the more family-oriented Black Lives Matter protesters went home. At that point, she says a small group of anarchist agitators that were apparently waiting for their opportunity started the rioting by setting fire to police cars outside the Public Safety Building.
Mayor Warren says the agitators laid a trap, and the community fell into it, joining in rioting and looting businesses. She says the community turned on its own neighborhood stores where they shop and buy the necessities of life. She called the looting a fine reward for business owners who put their money and work into their neighborhoods.
Police Chief La'Ron Singletary says the people who started the trouble were well organized, and he believes they were coordinated statewide. Similar disturbances broke out in Syracuse, Buffalo and Niagara Falls all on Saturday evening. He believes their goal was to get into the Public Safety Building as they did in Minneapolis with a neighborhood police precinct that was burned. But Singletary says men and women of the RPD held the line and “we aren’t having that here.”
The Chief says 13 arrests have been made so far, with charges including burglary, inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and obstructing government administration. He says many more arrests are expected as they identify particular individuals they've caught on camera.
Singletary says no officers were injured, and one firefighter was injured when his fire truck was attacked and the glass smashed. He was treated and sent home.