A leader of a New York City march got arrested. Here's how the protest unfolded

NEW YORK – Demonstrators gathered in Washington Square Park late Wednesday afternoon to march in protest of the death of George Floyd.

Five days after thousands of demonstrators marched on Foley Square in anger over Floyd's death May 25 at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Wednesday's demonstration was less organized – even as charges against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin were upgraded to second-degree murder and three other former officers were charged in Floyd's death.

Organizers' plans gave way to improvisation as they headed north toward Midtown Manhattan.

For one hour, Jhyair Fields was the march's lead scout. The moment protesters left the park and walked into the middle of Fifth Avenue, Fields sped to the front on a silver kick scooter.

He weaved between the bikes, cars and pedestrians ahead of the march, waving at them to stop or get out of the way.

“You’re stuck now. I’m sorry,” Fields said to the driver of a silver BMW, whose car became engulfed by the crowd. “This is gonna be a bit.”

Looking backward, Fields locked eyes with Chris Muckle, the protest's lead organizer. From these glances, he took his instructions, which he passed along in a voice that was high and loud.

“Yo yo yo! Slow down!” shouted Fields, 23, from the Bronx. “We’ve got to keep together!”

Fields stopped his scooter at 14th Street. The marchers, nearly 1,000 in all, stopped on his order. No one knew which way to turn. Fields raised his right hand barely above his head. He pointed west, toward the Hudson River.

A thousand people turned left.

“I’m going to shut down the West Side Highway,” said Fields, 23. “If we show that we can shut down the highway, maybe the police will know we’re not playing around. Maybe they won’t kill us so much.”

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Waze can’t help you here

All week in New York, the protests have been like this. Every march has moments of careful planning followed by long stretches of organic eruption. The organizers often have a desired destination in mind – Trump Tower, perhaps, or the mayor’s residence at Gracie Mansion.

Then the vagaries of traffic and police presence kick in, and scouts such as Fields make judgment calls about where to go next. The ancient craft of wayfinding –rendered simple by apps such as Waze or unnecessary by apps such as Uber and Lyft – suddenly becomes crucial.

“Why would we go to Union Square? There’s too many cops up there,” Fields said to some junior scouts on bicycles. “Let’s go to the river!”

In the crowd and away from it, divergent needs drove protesters in different directions. As Wednesday’s march turned uptown, dozens of protesters peeled off. They tucked their signs under their armpits, slowed to a stroll and started looking for food, water and bathrooms.

“Let’s pull over, guys,” Jennifer Lee, 34, said to three friends near 42nd Street. “I think there’s a pizza place up here.”

Others found directions from inside the crowd. Velli Sirri took the day off work from a recording studio in Brooklyn to meet his friend at the protest near Chelsea Market. By the time Sirri caught a ride to Chelsea, the march was nowhere in sight. Sirri called his friend in the march, who said the protest had moved a mile uptown.

After power walking 2 miles, Sirri united with his friendin Times Square.

“I’ve protested in New York before, but I’ve never seen anything this,” said Sirri, 27, who wore a mauve sweatshirt that dripped with sweat. “I’m dressed all wrong. If I had known how long these people were gonna walk, I would have won a T-shirt.”

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An arrest removes the rudder

Fields got halfway to the river. Then he got arrested.

Kicking away from the marchers, he zoomed west on 14th Street. Ahead of him, police officers dismounted from their bicycles and ran to form a phalanx. They were getting into position as Fields rolled up. He aimed for a gap between two bicycles. A scrum of officers pounced. They slammed Fields against a construction fence, which toppled under their weight. In seconds, Fields was jerked upright, his wrists ziptied behind his waist.

“I’m peaceful!” Fields screamed. “I could have hit you, but I didn’t. I tried to avoid you!”

Fields was guided into a white police van. With no one at the helm, the march split in two. Half the protesters stayed to protest Fields’ arrest. The other half marched away. They walked so quickly that in places, the protest grew thin. Muckle worried the gaps might provide opportunities for police to drive a wedge, surround a group of protesters and arrest them.

At Bryant Park, Muckle attempted to restore order. He asked all the marchers to kneel.

“My lead scout got arrested! And now we’re moving too fast!” Muckle, 30, from Brooklyn, shouted to the crowd at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. “We need everybody to stick together. And I need a volunteer to be my new lead scout.”

Lele Saueri stepped forward.

“I will do it,” said Saueri, 40.

Muckle clapped him on the shoulder. The power was conferred. Saueri aimed his red Schwinn bicycle uptown and pedaled to the lead.

The crowd surged ahead, but within a block, Saueri's orange bike helmet was lost.

At 45th Street, Muckle tried again.

“That was a test, and you guys failed!” Muckle yelled to the marchers. “Come on, you guys. We have to be more organized than the cops! The cops have no idea what they’re doing!”

“Fox News is two blocks ahead. Trump Tower is one block over,” Saueri said. “We should hit one of them. We’re going over to Trump Tower.”

They made it to neither. The electronic news scroll that wraps around the headquarters of Fox News was switched off, and the marchers did not seem to notice the building was there.

They reached 56th Street, where Trump Tower looms one block to the east. No one took command, and no marchers turned. Instead, they continued toward Central Park. The streets around Trump Tower were closed with steel barricades. Behind the barricades stood dozens of police in riot gear.

“It’s true,” Saueri said. “We are a little disorganized now.”

Christopher Maag is a columnist for NorthJersey.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Chris_Maag

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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: George Floyd protest NYC: Arrest renders march rudderless in Manhattan