A Week of Nationwide Protests Continue in Los Angeles
Protestors kneel in front of police while holding up signs in relation to the murder of George Floyd and the demand to end police brutality on Ocean Avenue in downtown Santa Monica. Santa Monica, Calif., Sunday, May 31, 2020. (William Franco Espinosa/The Corsair)
Protests originally forming in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin have quickly spread nationwide, as many organized protests continue to take place across Los Angeles county and neighboring cities. Los Angeles protests sparked as early as May 28 and public officials have since called for police and military intervention.
“The whole system is fucked,” said Felicity Clark, a participant in a Downtown Los Angeles protest on March 29. “[Police are] here to protect property, not people at all… they’ve definitely been aggressive. I mean, not to say our side hasn't been aggressive too. We’re fucking mad.”
Multiple peaceful protests have occurred daily in the Los Angeles area. Wednesday saw two separate marches convene at the intersection of Santa Monica Blvd and La Cienega Blvd in West Hollywood. Hundreds of vehicles mixed in with thousands of protesters as a small law enforcement presence stood by and blocked off the intersection to outside vehicles, allowing the demonstrators a clear path.
Former SMC student Ginger Duran and her friend Erika Johnson handed out bottles of water and snacks from the back of their slow-moving Range Rover to walking demonstrators as they headed towards Santa Monica Blvd. “We were here yesterday just walking, but today we decided to do the water and snacks,” said Johnson. They got out of their vehicle to join in a moment of silence once they reached Santa Monica Blvd.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency on May 30 for Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles. Part of that order included mobilizing and deploying the California National Guard to help assist with the continued civil unrest in the area.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a curfew beginning Saturday evening to the entire city effective from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.; the curfews continued to fluctuate in terms of time throughout the week, giving as little as one hour notices. The curfew was meant to “clean up the debris, [make] sure shops are secure… [and make] sure that downtown residents can safely go around downtown and leave and come into their homes,” according to Garcetti’s press briefing. Garcetti halted curfews as of Thursday.
Thousands of people are protesting the death of George Floyd, on Friday, May 30, 2020, in Los Angeles, Calif. As the protesters get violent, L.A. Mayor Garcetti calls for the National guard and orders curfew for the entire city of Los Angeles. (Yasamin Jafari-Tehrani/The Corsair)
These protests are in response to the death of George Floyd after an interaction with law enforcement. Floyd’s death on Monday occurred when Chauvin had knelt down on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Chauvin was arrested four days later on charges of second and third-degree murder and manslaughter. Third-degree murder, defined by the state of Minnesota as murder “without intent to effect the death of any person,” would decree Chauvin with a maximum 25 year sentence. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison later upgraded the murder charge against Chauvin to a more serious count of second-degree murder. Three other officers at the scene of Floyd’s interaction with Chauvin were also charged with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Each of the 50 states has participated in a Black Lives Matter-related protest since Floyd’s death on May 25, with events having taken place in over 430 cities nationwide. The movement has also garnered international support within the last week, with protests taken place in countries like Canada, Britain, and even Syria. Many have taken place in violation of restrictions limiting mass gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The police arrest a protester and drag him on the ground during the Black Lives Matter protest, on Monday, June 1, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Maxim Elramsisy/The Corsair)
While the vast majority of protests locally and nationally have been peaceful, there have been isolated incidents of looting. A peaceful protest in Santa Monica, Calif. on Sunday was overshadowed by widespread vandalism and looting. Santa Monica Police Chief Cynthia Renaud said that 95 percent of those arrested during the looting did not live in Santa Monica. Santa Monica city officials stated that they believe the vast majority of the looters were not associated with the protest.
Many local business owners say they understand the pain and anger over Floyd’s death. John Grondor, owner of The Craftsman Bar and Kitchen on Broadway, stood watch outside his restaurant one block east of Ocean Ave.
“It’s just unfortunate that the message gets lost. We really need to get this message going, you know, I’m really all for it. We even put up a sign [on the store] that we are out protesting [earlier today]...let’s go exercise our right [to protest].”
Floyd’s case is not a lone incident, with his death following the recent killings of Amhaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Arbery was shot dead after being chased down while jogging in a neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael, a father and son, were arrested and charged with murder two days after video surfaced of the killing. Taylor was killed by Louisville police after they executed a no-knock warrant on her apartment and shot her at least eight times. Taylor’s mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against three officers.
As Floyd’s funeral took place this afternoon in Minneapolis, activists nationwide continued demanding social change through donations to protestor bail funds and black-run activist organizations. Many have signed petitions to hold accountable those responsible for Floyd’s death.
Missael Soto contributed to this report.
A protester holding a sign in front of the police car burning on Fairfax, on Friday, May 30, 2020, in Los Angeles, Calif. ( Yasamin Jafari-Tehrani/The Corsair)
