随着抗议的继续，洛杉矶结束宵禁美国广播公司新闻的马特·古特曼从洛杉矶报道，洛杉矶市长宣布削减警察预算，演员肯德里克·桑普森讨论被警察袭击。
本周早些时候，当洛杉矶警察局的一名高级指挥官在埃里克·加希提市长的房子外与抗议者一起跪下时，这似乎是一个团结的时刻。然而，许多抗议者和组织者表示，他们不希望警察跪下，有些人称这是“公关噱头”，无助于这场运动。
当美国广播公司新闻面试科里·帕尔卡，LAPD西部局的助理指挥官，他被肯德里克·桑普森打断了黑人的生活很重要组织者和演员。
“我们不希望任何人带走膝盖，膝盖不能帮我愈合伤口。周六他们打了我七枪，”桑普森摇摇头说。“这对我的孩子没有任何帮助，因为他们用橡皮子弹将一门大炮对准了他的头部。”
更多:为什么一些警察和抗议者一起对乔治·弗洛伊德的死感到愤怒
在HBO节目《不安全》中出演的桑普森称指挥官的行为是一场“闹剧”，并称这是“让他们看起来更好的公关”
周五，桑普森分享了一张照片，照片中他腿上被辣椒球击中的血淋淋的伤口，同时还鼓励市长出席一个黑人生活问题市政厅。
类似的警察的手势与全国各地的抗议者一起跪下、拥抱和游行在互联网上被广泛分享。在许多情况下，抗议者要求官员们与他们一起下跪，这一姿态引起了欢呼。
这一矛盾凸显了该国在执法部门和他们本应保护的社区之间复杂而微妙的关系中的挣扎。
6月3日，在纽约的布法罗，警察被拍到和抗议者一起跪在市政厅外。一天后，在一段现已广为流传的视频中，两名警察在市政厅外的抗议活动中将一名75岁的男子推倒在地，造成他严重受伤两人都被捕了。
畅销书作家和活动家罗珊妮·盖伊和桑普森一样，对抗议者与执法部门分享时刻感到担忧。
她在推特上写道:“我需要警察、政治家和更多的白人停止跪着。”。“我们不需要你跪下。我们需要你站出来支持真正的、激进的、持续的变革。”
正如洛杉矶黑人生活组织者保拉·米诺所指出的那样，在这个特定的时间点，跪着这一特定的行为也有着不同的含义。鉴于弗洛伊德是在一名警官跪在他脖子上的情况下去世的，米纳尔告诉美国广播公司新闻，她对警官跪下感到“非常不舒服”。
希望我们不要陷入象征主义:“这不是我们来这里的目的，变化必须从内部发生。”
其他人，如抗议者西蒙·巴特尔，认为警察和抗议者之间的友好互动是真正的同情行为。周四早上，巴特尔分享了一段现已广为流传的视频，视频中一名白人休斯顿警官在他的女儿因抗议开始哭泣后安慰她。
他说他很感激警官给他女儿的安慰。
巴特尔告诉美国广播公司新闻，“我真的很高兴你有那些愿意理解正在发生的事情的官员”。“我知道不是所有的官员都是种族主义者或有偏见的，也不是所有的官员都想伤害和对抗非裔美国人。
在经历了自己家庭的警察暴行后，巴特尔理解这个国家正在经历的痛苦，并补充说，他希望看到这些警察的同情心远远超越抗议。
2020年6月2日，洛杉矶市长埃里克·加希提在市政厅和LAPD总部外的洛杉矶市中心会见参加游行及和平抗议的抗议者和来自洛杉矶地区的神职人员。
全国有色人种协进会主席兼首席执行官德里克·约翰逊说:“很高兴看到执法部门参与社区并支持社区。”。然而，他补充说，为了让国家继续前进，需要进行系统性改革，包括取消合格豁免和执法部门与地区检察官办公室的分离。
没有明确的方式来判断这些互动是一个现实;这取决于社区，约翰逊告诉美国广播公司新闻。作为密西西比州的居民，约翰逊说，一英里跨越县界对他和他的家人来说意味着一个“更加敌对的环境”。
“如果他们(警察)不住在你的辖区，那么联系就不同了，他们对非裔美国人的看法也不同，”约翰逊说。“如果你不是社区的一部分，就很难尊重它。”像许多人一样，约翰逊一直在努力改变执法在我们社会中的基本角色，同时也在为警察与社区的关系穿针引线。
2020年5月30日，佛罗里达州珊瑚山墙镇，警察跪在集会上，以回应乔治·弗洛伊德最近的死亡，他是一名手无寸铁的黑人，在被逮捕并被钉在十字架上时死亡...更多
乔治·弗洛伊德之死引发了为期一周的全国性抗议，这个国家正显示出改革的迹象。加尔塞蒂宣布对LAPD进行全面改革，包括从该部门预算中削减1亿至1.5亿美元，这是抗议者一直呼吁的。加尔塞蒂表示，2.5亿美元将替代花费在项目上惠及该县的黑人和棕色人种社区。
桑普森告诉美国广播公司新闻，“给我希望的是，如果他们决定给我们钱，警察部门膨胀的预算，并把它实际上放入系统，意味着关心和停止继续奴隶捕捉的遗产。”。
2020年6月1日，纽约市警察局局长特伦斯·莫纳汉在纽约的一次抗议活动中拥抱一名活动家。示威者走上纽约街头抗议...更多
市长表示，除了削减预算，该部门还将投资隐性偏见、培训、青年和夜间项目，以减少警察的不当行为。警察工会不太支持削减预算，洛杉矶警察保护联盟也是如此发布声明周五说加尔塞蒂“疯了”
西雅图、旧金山和明尼阿波利斯的城市领导人也在寻求从警察部门转移资金，以此来遏制过于激进的警察策略。在纽约州，废除警察透明度法的努力势头越来越大，尽管面临警察工会的批评。
美国广播公司新闻部的马特·古特曼对此报道做出了贡献。
Some protesters take issue with police kneeling, calling it 'PR stunt'
Los Angeles ends curfew as protests go onABC News’ Matt Gutman reports from Los Angeles where the mayor announced police budget cuts, and actor Kendrick Sampson discusses being attacked by police.
When a high-ranking Los Angeles Police Department commander kneeled with protesters outside of Mayor Eric Garcetti's house earlier this week, it appeared to be a moment of solidarity. However, many protesters and organizers say they don't want police officers to kneel, with some calling it a "PR stunt" that doesn't contribute to the movement.
While ABC News wasinterviewingCory Palka, the assistant commanding officer for LAPD's West Bureau, he was interrupted by Kendrick Sampson, aBlack Lives Matterorganizer and actor.
"We don't want anybody to take a knee, a knee doesn't help me heal the wounds. They shot me seven times on Saturday," Sampson says, shaking his head. "It does not help my boy who has two broken bones in his skull right now because they aimed a cannon at his head with rubber bullets."
Sampson, who stars on the HBO show "Insecure," called the commander's actions a "farce," and said it was "PR to make them look good."
On Friday, Sampson shared a photo of the bloody wounds on his legs from being shot with pepper balls while also encouraging the mayor to attend a Black Lives Matter town hall.
Similargestures of police officerskneeling, hugging and marching with protesters around the country have been shared widely on the internet. In many instances, the protesters have been the ones who asked the officers to kneel with them and the gesture has elicited cheers.
The paradox has highlighted the country's struggle to navigate the complex and delicate relationship between law enforcement and the communities they are supposed to protect.
On June 3, Buffalo, New York, police officers were filmed kneeling with protesters outside City Hall. One day later, in a now-viral video, two officers pushed a 75-year-old man to the ground during a protest outside City Hall, seriously injuring him and resulting inboth being arrested.
Roxane Gay, a bestselling author and activist, shared the same apprehension as Sampson about protesters sharing moments with law enforcement.
"I need cops and politicians and white people more broadly to stop kneeling," she wrote on Twitter. "We don't need you to kneel. We need you to stand up for real, radical, sustained change."
The specific act of kneeling also carries a different connotation at this particular point in time, as Paula Minor, a Black Lives Matter Los Angeles organizer, pointed out. Given Floyd died with an officer's kneeling on his neck, Minor told ABC News she's "highly uncomfortable" with officers taking a knee.
Minor hopes we don't get caught up in symbolism: "That’s not what we’re here for, the change has to occur from within."
Others, like protester Simeon Bartee, see kind interactions between police officers and protesters as genuine acts of compassion. On Thursday morning, Bartee shared a now-viral video of a white Houston police officer comforting his daughter after she began crying at a protest.
He said he appreciated the sense of comfort the officer gave his daughter.
"I do love that you have those officers who are willing to understand what's going on," Bartee told ABC News. "I know not all officers are racist or prejudiced, not all of them want to harm and antagonize African Americans.
Having experienced police brutality in his own family, Bartee understands the pain the country is going through, adding he would like to see these police officers' empathy extend well beyond the protests.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti meets protesters and clergy from the Los Angeles area participating in a march and peaceful protest in downtown Los Angeles outside of City Hall and LAPD Headquarters, June 2, 2020.
"It's good to see law enforcement participate with the community and support the community," said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP. However, in order for the country to move on, systemic reform is needed, he added, including the abolishment of qualified immunity and separation of law enforcement from district attorney's offices.
There is no definitive way to judge these interactions as one reality; it depends on the community, Johnson told ABC News. As a Mississippi resident, Johnson said a mile across county lines can mean a much "more hostile environment" for he and his family.
Like many, Johnson has been working to change the fundamental role of law enforcement in our society while threading the needle of police-community relationship.
"If they (police officers) don't live in your jurisdiction, then the connection is different and how they see African Americans is different," Johnson said. "It's hard to respect a community if you're not a part of it."
Police officers kneel during a rally in Coral Gables, Florida, May 30, 2020, in response to the recent death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while being arrested and pinned to the...more
After a week of nationwide protests sparked by George Floyd's death, the country is showing signs of reformation. Garcetti announced sweeping reforms to the LAPD, including cutting $100 million to $150 million from the department's budget, something protesters have been calling for. Garcetti said $250 million would insteadbe spent on programsbenefitting black and brown communities in the county.
"What would give me hope is if they decide to give us the money, the inflated budget of the police department, and actually put it into systems that were meant to care and stop continuing the legacy of slave catching," Sampson told ABC News.
Chief of Department of the New York City Police, Terence Monahan, hugs an activist during a protest in New York, June 1, 2020. Demonstrators took to the streets of New York to protest the...more
In addition to budget cuts, the department will invest in implicit bias, training, youth and overnight programs to reduce police misconduct, according to the mayor. The police union was less than supportive of the budget cuts, with the L.A. Police Protective Leaguereleasing a statementFriday saying Garcetti had "lost his damn mind."
City leaders in Seattle, San Francisco and Minneapolis are also looking to shift funds from the police department as a means of curbing overly aggressive police tactics. In New York state, the effort to repeal police transparency law is gaining momentum, though facing criticism from police unions.
ABC News' Matt Gutman contributed to this report.
