Some violence, but California protests mostly peaceful

LOS ANGELES (AP) — National Guard reinforced police in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Vallejo after a second night of violence. That was among scattered incidents that stood in contrast to largely peaceful California protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Fifty members of the Guard arrived Tuesday after they were requested to “assist in securing locations that are considered high-risk,” said statement from the city.

A person was shot by police during looting that began late Monday, according to local news reports, and another round of violence erupted late Tuesday.

“A group of approximately 100 individuals armed with batteries and nearly 40 vehicles surrounded the Vallejo Police Department,” the city said. “Additionally rocks and bottles thrown at PD units and a subject with a Molotov cocktail was observed.”

Elsewhere, police cordons — in some cases backed by National Guard troops — kept a tight watch on marchers from San Francisco to Hollywood but on the fifth day of protests the mood seemed far less tense. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and some police officers took a knee during a clergy-led demonstration outside police headquarters.

People marched up the Great Highway along San Francisco’s Ocean Beach while at San Jose’s City Hall several hundred people showed up for a demonstration organized by the local branch of the NAACP.

Protesters held about nine minutes of silence in front of the state Capitol in Sacramento — approximately the amount of time that a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck.

After evening curfews fell, police began moving in to disperse demonstrators outside the Los Angeles mayor’s residence. More than 200 people were detained, including about two dozen who lay down on a Hollywood apartment building rooftop and spelled out “BLM” with their bodies, for “Black Lives Matter.”

Police Chief Michel Moore said nearly 3,000 people had been arrested since the protests began, most of them for failure to disperse or curfew violations.

Moore himself came under fire at a civilian Police Commission hearing where speakers called for his resignation or firing because of remarks he made a day earlier. Moore had said rioters and thieves were “capitalizing” on the demonstrations to commit crimes and had Floyd’s death on their hands just as much as the Minneapolis police officers who killed him.

He quickly said he misspoke and later issued a written apology. Garcetti on Tuesday defended Moore and praised him for correcting his “wrong” statement. “Moore is among police chiefs who have denounced Floyd’s death.

The Los Angeles County curfew was extended to a fourth night Tuesday. Authorities credit it and the arrival of more than 1,000 National Guard troops with significantly reducing vandalism and thefts.

In Redwood City, protesters chanted “take a knee and we’ll leave” at California Highway Patrol officers, and began leaving after an officer dropped to one knee, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Law enforcement officers said during the protests, organized gangs of thieves took advantage of the distraction to hit dozens of businesses.

The Sacramento Police Department is investigating an officer shown on cellphone video using a carotid restraint on an 18-year-old man arrested following a sidewalk chase early Monday, The Sacramento Bee reported. The technique, which can cut off blood flow to the brain and render a person unconscious, has been banned by many departments but is allowed in Sacramento under certain conditions. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of looting and resisting arrest.

San Francisco Police Chief William Scott asked supervisors Tuesday to keep an overnight curfew order for at least the “next few days.” He said burglars are organized, with vehicles waiting to ferry away people rushing out of stores with armloads of goods.

Oakland’s interim police chief, Susan Manheimer, asked for video or other information on a shooting during Friday night’s protest that killed a federal officer and injured another. The victims were guarding the U.S. courthouse. She said investigators believe the assailants were targeting law enforcement.

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Associated Press journalists Olga Rodriguez and Janie Har in San Francisco; Kathleen Ronayne, Cuneyt Dil and Adam Beam in Sacramento; and Christopher Weber and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

The Associated Press

Thousands ignore Minneapolis curfew as U.S. protests spread

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Thousands of protesters ignored a curfew and vows of a forceful police response to take to the Minneapolis streets for a fourth straight night, as the anger stoked by the police killing of George Floyd spread to more cities across the U.S.

The Pentagon on Saturday ordered the Army to put military police units on alert to head to the city on short notice at President Donald Trump’s request, according to three people with direct knowledge of the orders who did not want their names used because they were not authorized to discuss the preparations. The rare step came as the violence spread to other cities: a man shot dead in Detroit, police cars battered in Atlanta and skirmishes with police in New York City.

Criminal charges filed Friday morning against the white officer who held his knee for nearly nine minutes on the neck of Floyd, a black man, did nothing to stem the anger. Derek Chauvin, 44, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Minneapolis police said shots had been fired at law enforcement officers during the protests but no one was injured.

As the night dragged on, fires erupted across the city’s south side, including at a Japanese restaurant, a Wells Fargo bank and an Office Depot. Many burned for hours, with firefighters again delayed in reaching them because areas weren’t secure.

Shortly before midnight, scores of officers on foot and in vehicles moved in to curb the violence, one day after city and state leaders faced blowback for their handling of the crisis. On Thursday, protesters had torched a police station soon after it was abandoned by police and went on to burn or vandalize dozens of businesses.

The new round of unrest came despite Gov. Tim Walz vowing early in the day to show a more forceful response by the state than the one Thursday run by Minneapolis city leaders. But by early Saturday morning, Walz was acknowledging he didn’t have enough manpower, even with some 500 Guard soldiers.

“We do not have the numbers,” Walz said. “We cannot arrest people when we are trying to hold ground.”

Walz said he was moving quickly to mobilize more than 1,000 more Guard members, for a total of 1,700, and was considering the potential offer of federal military police. But he warned that even that might not be enough, saying he expected another difficult night Saturday.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association urged Walz to accept any help.


“You need more resources,” the group said in a tweet. “Law enforcement needs leadership.”

Not all the protests were violent. Downtown, thousands of demonstrators encircled a barricaded police station after the 8 p.m. Friday curfew. “Prosecute the police!” some chanted, and “Say his name: George Floyd!” Some protesters sprayed graffiti on buildings.

Anger filled the streets of Minneapolis.

Ben Hubert, a 26-year-old local resident, said he wasn’t surprised people were breaking curfew and setting fires.

“I’m outraged,” he said of the Floyd case. “But I’m also sad. The injustice has been going on for so long. It’s been swelling for years.”

Chauvin was also was accused of ignoring another officer who expressed concerns about Floyd as he lay handcuffed on the ground, pleading that he could not breathe while Chauvin pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes. Floyd, who was black, had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill at a store.

Chauvin, who was fired along with three other officers who were at the scene, faces more than 12 years in prison if convicted of murder.

An attorney for Floyd’s family welcomed the arrest but said he expected a more serious murder charge and wants the other officers arrested, too.

Prosecutor Mike Freeman said more charges were possible, but authorities “felt it appropriate to focus on the most dangerous perpetrator.”

Protests nationwide have been fueled by outrage over Floyd’s death and years of police violence against African Americans. Protesters smashed windows at CNN headquarters in Atlanta, set a police car on fire and struck officers with bottles. Large demonstrations in New York, Houston, Washington, D.C., and dozens of other cities ranged from people peacefully blocking roads to repeated clashes with police.

“You are disgracing our city,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told protesters. “You are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country.”

Police were trying to put Floyd in a squad car Monday when he stiffened and fell to the ground, saying he was claustrophobic, a criminal complaint said. Chauvin and Officer Tou Thoa arrived and tried several times to get the struggling Floyd into the car.

Chauvin eventually pulled Floyd out of the car, and the handcuffed Floyd went to the ground face down. Officer J.K. Kueng held Floyd’s back and Officer Thomas Lane held his legs while Chauvin put his knee on Floyd’s head and neck area, the complaint said.

When Lane asked if Floyd should be rolled onto his side, Chauvin said, “No, staying put is where we got him.” Lane said he was “worried about excited delirium or whatever.”

An autopsy said the combined effects of being restrained, potential intoxicants in Floyd’s system and his underlying health issues, including heart disease, likely contributed to his death. It revealed nothing to support strangulation as the cause of death.

There were no other details about intoxicants, and toxicology results can take weeks. In the 911 call that drew police, the caller describes the man suspected of paying with counterfeit money as “awfully drunk and he’s not in control of himself.”

After Floyd apparently stopped breathing, Lane again said he wanted to roll Floyd onto his side. Kueng checked for a pulse and said he could not find one, according to the complaint.

Chauvin’s attorney had no comment when reached by The Associated Press.

The prosecutor highlighted the “extraordinary speed” in charging the case four days after Floyd’s death and defended himself against questions about why it did not happen sooner. Freeman said his office needed time to gather evidence, including what he called the “horrible” video recorded by a bystander.

Trump said Friday that he’d spoken to Floyd’s family and “expressed my sorrow.”

He called video of the arrest “just a horrible thing to witness and to watch. It certainly looked like there was no excuse for it.”

Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Floyd’s family, asked to take custody of Floyd’s body for an independent autopsy.

The doctor who will do the autopsy is Michael Baden, former chief medical examiner of New York City, who was hired to do an autopsy for Eric Garner, a black man who died in 2014 after New York police placed him in a chokehold and he pleaded that he could not breathe.

State and federal authorities also are investigating Floyd’s death.

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Associated Press writers Amy Forliti, Steve Karnowski, and Doug Glass in Minneapolis, Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee, Bernard Condon in New York, and James LaPorta in Delray Beach, Fla., contributed to this report.

Associated Press