Ex-NYPD lieutenant warns about 'paid agitators' during George Floyd riots

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Darrin Porcher reacts to chaos in nationwide protests amid George Floyd’s death

Former NYPD lieutenant Darrin Porcher reacts to the nationwide riots on ‘America’s News HQ.’

Former NYPD Lt. Darrin Porcher warned about paid demonstrators infiltrating ongoing protests and riots and emphasized the importance of communities working with law enforcement.

"As a former NYPD lieutenant, I refer back to me being a practitioner in New York City and the many instances we had -- what we referred to as paid agitators," he told Fox News' Arthel Neville on Saturday.

"These were people who were paid by specific groups to come in and quote, unquote, raise a level of anarchy -- throwing things, just creating somewhat of a miscreant society ... We knew who a lot these people were. because you would see them at one demonstration. Then a week later you would see the same demonstrator or agitator protesting all over again. They knew nothing nor cared anything about what the actual event was involved around."

Porcher's comments came as President Trump warned that out-of-state rioters and outside groups were infiltrating demonstrations in Minneapolis, where many expressed outrage over George Floyd's death after a police encounter.

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"80% of the RIOTERS in Minneapolis last night were from OUT OF STATE," Trump tweeted on Saturday. "They are harming businesses (especially African American small businesses), homes, and the community of good, hardworking Minneapolis residents who want peace, equality, and to provide for their families."

He also warned that "crossing state lines to incite violence is a FEDERAL CRIME," tweeting specifically about the left-wing group Antifa.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey similarly announced that his city was encountering "out of state [sic] instigators, and possibly even foreign actors."

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Porcher told Neville that police should utilize their relationships with the community in order to adequately address the threat posed by rioters.

"It's one of these things where the police department is going to have to utilize their intelligence and that intelligence is going to go in two folds. You're going to have community leaders that members of the department are going to have that relationship with," he said.

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"And secondly, just based on the people that you come in contact with as an officer, you're going to be able to assess what the temperament of that particular demonstration or riot is. You're going to create a zone of safety and you're going to create a Seri fortification around the area that's being impacted."

He continued: "You will also see a try angulation of different law enforcement agencies. When I refer to the train a triangulation I'm referring to the local and state police and the National Guard or military mp, so-to-speak. They'll strategize how to best fit the personnel for the purpose of omnipresence and the arrests will be conducted by local police departments because that local police department is going to have a greater understanding of the inner workers of that particular area in Minneapolis."