Fontana protest over George Floyd’s death ends in 9 arrests, police say
Nine people were arrested Thursday night at a Fontana protest against the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck earlier this week.
The protest, which started in the 8400 block of Sierra Avenue about 6 p.m., initially involved about 50 demonstrators but grew to include about 100, police said in a news release.
Protesters blocked traffic and threw rocks at the windows of businesses and passing vehicles, according to investigators. Some windows at the Fontana City Hall building were damaged, police said.
These 13 photos show protests in downtown Los Angeles after the Minneapolis man was killed by police.
Police declared the protest an unlawful assembly and ordered the demonstrators to disperse about 9 p.m. Some of the protesters refused and threw rocks at officers, prompting them to ask other agencies for aid, police said.
It took officers more than an hour to break up the crowd, and nine people were arrested on suspicion of various offenses, police said. There wasn’t immediately word on what charges they might face.
The protest was one of several that have erupted across cities nationwide in the wake of Floyd’s death.
In Los Angeles, a crowd gathered Thursday outside LAPD headquarters on 1st Street to demonstrate for the second night in a row.
In Minneapolis, protesters lobbed bottles, trampled a perimeter fence, broke windows and overran a police station. Crowds continued to ransack the station, burn cars and fire guns in the air early Friday.
Floyd’s deadly encounter with police began Monday night after he was accused of trying to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store.
Cellphone video of his arrest outside the business shows Officer Derek Chauvin driving his knee into the 46-year-old’s neck as Floyd pleads that he can’t breathe. After several minutes, Floyd appears to lose consciousness, and a bystander can be heard yelling that Floyd’s nose is bleeding. Even as paramedics arrive to check Floyd’s pulse, Chauvin’s knee remains positioned on the man’s neck.
The killing has been condemned by leaders of some of the largest police departments in the U.S.
Times staff writers Molly Hennessy-Fiske and James Queally contributed to this report.
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