LAPD declares unlawful assembly in Fairfax area as police cruiser burns on 4th straight day of protests
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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew in the city on Saturday, May 30, as police cruisers burned in the Fairfax area during the fourth straight day of protests in the city.
The Los Angeles Police Department declared the Fairfax Avenue protest an unlawful assembly as some of the thousands of protesters there set cruisers on fire after smashing windows in other police vehicles.
Officers sprayed tear gas and shot beanbags into the crowd after threatening to arrest the thousands of demonstrators who had gathered to demand justice for George Floyd, an African-American man who died after a white officer kneeled on his neck in Minnesota.
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The protesters shut down traffic at the intersection; they were met with a couple dozen Los Angeles Police Officers blocking further access on Third Street.
As some officers attempted to leave the area, demonstrators blocked them in, in some cases yelling profanities and throwing water bottles at them.
Saturday’s protest came a day after the most chaotic night yet in the string of demonstrations in Los Angeles; the local community is still reeling from looting, fires and violence that broke out Friday evening.
A peaceful beginning
The demonstration started off peacefully in Pan Pacific Park shortly before noon, where hundreds of activists protested police brutality, carrying homemade signs that read, “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe.”
They chanted familiar mantras like, “No justice, no peace,” and, “Say their names.”
Andrew Masembe, a 35-year-old Burbank resident, said in Pan Pacific Park, before the march turned violent, that he felt the need to be a part of this chapter in history.
“You always think about these times in history and what you would do,” he said. “So faced with that, I decided to show up. It’s for black people to be heard. For so long, we been silent.”
Unrest in Los Angeles started Wednesday evening, May 27, when Black Lives Matter activists occupied the 101 Freeway in downtown. Protests continued on Thursday night, when the Los Angeles Police Department eventually labeled it an “unlawful assembly.”
And on Friday night, over 70 protesters returned to downtown, marching from City Hall to Spring Street.
The officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck, Derek Chauvin, was arrested on Friday. He was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Cleo Riley, a 17-year-old junior at Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, said Floyd’s death is just one instance of police brutality caught on video. Police brutality needs to end, she said.
So she put together LA Students for Floyd, one of the activist groups that arrived at Pan Pacific Park. Although she and her group are young, as the “voice of the future,” she believes her voice is among the most vital.
“I wanted to give students a chance to have their voices heard,” Riley said.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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