Hundreds Gather In DTLA For Seventh Day To Protest Police Brutality, Demonstrators Arrested For Curfew Violations
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Hundreds of protesters gathered throughout Los Angeles County early Tuesday afternoon for a seventh straight day of demonstrations against police brutality after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
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The largest demonstration was held in Hollywood, where thousands took the streets, with protesters also gathering in downtown Los Angeles and outside the mayor's Hancock Park residence.
As of early Tuesday evening, there were no major reports of violence or looting, which has marred demonstrations over the past several days, though police began making arrests downtown shortly before 7:30 p.m.
According to police, approximately 250 protesters were arrested and would be cited with curfew violations and then released.
Tuesday's protests began earlier in the day with a group organized by the Baptist Ministers Conference of Southern California and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference gathered outside the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters before moving out in front of City Hall.
Several police officers were seen talking with demonstrators, shaking hands, taking photos and a line of officers even kneeled with the group as a sign of solidarity. Mayor Eric Garcetti also joined the group, taking a knee to express support for their movement.
"A black face should not be a sentence to die, nor to be homeless, nor to be sick, nor to be under-employed, nor to be under-educated," he said as the crowd chanted. "We need a country that listens."
The mayor invited leaders of the demonstration to join him inside City Hall for a discussion of the issues they were protesting.
"Because this is not just about words," he said. "This is about what we do as a nation and a city at this moment."
The Tuesday demonstrations began hours after a countywide curfew was lifted at 6 a.m., and just hours after hundreds of arrests were made in Hollywood, Westwood and the San Fernando Valley — mostly for curfew violations.
Los Angeles County imposed another countywide curfew Tuesday that went into effect at 6 p.m. and was scheduled to last until 6 p.m., though the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the city and county of Los Angeles, claiming the curfew orders exceed their authority and represented a violation of First Amendment rights to free speech.
"A community's right to protest day or night may not be infringed merely because some people have acted unlawfully in certain areas of the county," the letter said.
But on Tuesday, Garcetti defended the curfews.
"I need to protect all Angelenos," he said. "I need to protect protesters. I need to protect our police officers. And we saw dangerous, dangerous situations that almost resulted in death, and I won't let that happen."
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
