PHOENIX – What was supposed to be a peaceful protest on Thursday night turned destructive after hundreds of people marched through the streets of downtown Phoenix. The march began in a sign of solidarity with protesters in Minneapolis over George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis while in police custody.
There is general consensus that Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis Police officer who knelt on his neck during an arrest.
An Unlawful Assembly has been declared in the area around Wesley Bolín Plaza due to criminal activity and a current danger to our community. Please leave the area including sidewalks, private property or roadways.
— Phoenix Police (@PhoenixPolice) May 29, 2020
The protest was organized by activist Jarrett Maupin and Arizona’s All Black Lives Matter.
The protest turned hostile when some protesters began hurling rocks and water bottles at police and Phoenix Police headquarters.
The following message has been shared on a loud speaker: I hereby declare this to be an unlawful assembly in the name of the People of the State of Arizona and command all persons so assembled at 17th Ave, 19th Ave, Washington and Jefferson to immediately and peacefully disperse.
— Phoenix Police (@PhoenixPolice) May 29, 2020
A crowd converged on a Phoenix Police car and smashed the back window.
There is criminal activity in the area of 7th Ave and Washington. It is time for pedestrians in the area to leave.
— Phoenix Police (@PhoenixPolice) May 29, 2020
Phoenix Police and Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers used nonlethal force against protesters, including pepper spray and rubber bullets.
Police declared the protest an unlawful assembly after 11 p.m., but approximately 50 – 100 protesters remained standing in defiance near 7th Avenue and Washington Street well past 12:30 a.m.