Protesters shut down 110 Freeway, clash with police in DTLA over killing of George Floyd
DTLA #DTLA
Marking a third day of protest in California over the the killing of George Floyd, demonstrators shut down the 101 Freeway on Friday afternoon in San Jose.
The killing of Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck earlier this week, has sparked protests across the country, including two in downtown Los Angeles. On Wednesday night, demonstrators briefly shutdown the 101 in the L.A. civic center.
On Friday, hundreds of demonstrators began marching at San Jose City Hall before running onto the 101 Freeway at Santa Clara Street.
It was the latest of several marches.
Nine people were arrested Thursday night at a Fontana protest.
That event, which started in the 8400 block of Sierra Avenue about 6 p.m., initially involved about 50 demonstrators but grew to include about 100, police said in a news release.
Protesters blocked traffic and threw rocks at the windows of businesses and passing vehicles, according to investigators. Some windows at Fontana City Hall were damaged, police said.
Police declared the protest an unlawful assembly and ordered the demonstrators to disperse about 9 p.m. Some of the protesters refused and threw rocks at officers, prompting them to ask other agencies for help, police said.
It took officers more than an hour to break up the crowd, and nine people were arrested on suspicion of various offenses, police said. There was no immediate word on what charges they might face.
In Los Angeles, a crowd gathered Thursday outside LAPD headquarters on 1st Street to demonstrate for the second night in a row.
In Minneapolis, protesters lobbed bottles, trampled a perimeter fence, broke windows and overran a police station. Crowds continued to ransack the station, burn cars and fire guns in the air early Friday.
Floyd’s deadly encounter with police began Monday night after he was accused of trying to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store.
Cellphone video of his arrest outside the business shows Officer Derek Chauvin driving his knee into the 46-year-old’s neck as Floyd pleads that he can’t breathe. After several minutes, Floyd appears to lose consciousness, and a bystander can be heard yelling that Floyd’s nose is bleeding. Even as paramedics arrive to check Floyd’s pulse, Chauvin’s knee remains positioned on the man’s neck.
The killing has been condemned by leaders of some of the largest police departments in the U.S.
———
©2020 the Los Angeles Times
Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.