LAPD readies for 4th day of protests
Los Angeles police were preparing for another day of demonstrations on Saturday, May 30, a day after police vehicles were damaged, businesses looted and hundreds arrested while protesting the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis earlier this week.
The Los Angeles Police Department said Saturday it plans on again deploying additional resources to maintain order as well as safety and security for demonstrators expressing their first amendment rights, residents and businesses in the community.
The Department did not release additional details of its plans to handle Saturday’s planned protests.
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Six LAPD officers suffered non-life threatening injuries, ranging from lacerations to impact wounds, as a result of the mayhem, police said. More than 500 people were arrested and all but 18 of them were released on their own recognizance.
Friday night’s events began as peaceful protests, but later become violent, with LAPD declaring an unlawful assembly about 9:30 p.m., police said.
A fourth day of protests was anticipated Saturday, as people continue to call for justice for Floyd, who died in police custody while Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee pressed against Floyd’s neck while Floyd was handcuffed on the ground for several minutes.
Chauvin was charged Friday with third degree murder and second degree manslaughter. He and three other officers were also fired following the incident, which was filmed and spread widely online.
Still, more protests were scheduled starting at noon today. Demonstrators planned to gather at the corner of Alhambra Avenue and Vignes Street, in an event organized by the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Opporesion, to call for justice for Floyd and the immediate safe release of prisoners in the Men’s Central Jail and Twin Towers Correctional Facility, then caravan to the jail facilities and LAPD headquarters.
Black Lives Matter Los Angeles will hold a rally at Pan Pacific Park, 7600 Beverly Blvd., to call for an end to police brutality against unarmed black Americans and for justice in the death of Floyd.
The Coalition for Community Control Over the Police will host another protest outside LAPD’s Southeast Station and will march to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.
Another demonstration was scheduled for 3 p.m. at Mariachi Plaza to demand the release of all prisoners and an end to police terror and “crime against Latinos and blacks.”
Images in Los Angeles Saturday morning showed the chaos that occurred overnight. Workers attempted to both paint over graffiti and board up at least some of the businesses that had been looted, including a CVS Pharmacy along Olympic Boulevard at Broadway and a Bank of America along Sixth Street.
Theater marquees held messages including “After every storm comes a rainbow,” and “There can be no love without justice.”
Store fronts were destroyed along Seventh Street and remnants of the looting lined sidewalks, including jewelry boxes on Hill Street.
City News Service contributed to this report.