VIOLENCE BREAKS OUT AS TEMPERS FLARE UP
Protests start out calm, turn riotous
Protests turned violent after dark when a crowd calling for justice for George Floyd dispersed from a massive gathering in front of the State House and smashed windows, set fires and and broke into businesses in Downtown Crossing.
Looters raided the Skylight
Jewelers near the Omni Parker hotel as the chaos erupted.
Windows to the Men’s Warehouse on Washington Street and scores of other businesses were smashed as the crowd streamed from the area of Boston Common. Black smoke billowed from the Beantown Pub after a fire erupted in the Tremont Street eatery. Parked in front, a police cruiser burned in the night.
Amid the escalation of violence, Boston Police said in a message posted to Twitter at about 10 p.m., “Those now protesting in the streets of Boston have surrendered the moral high ground as efforts to hurt and harm police officers continue to intensify in our city. Men and women of BPD doing their best to restore order and keep the peace.”
Mayor Martin Walsh said, “I want to thank the officers of the Boston Police Department and all of the public safety agencies for their professionalism tonight. They are working hard, as they always do, to keep our city safe and treat our residents with respect.”
“I am angered, however, by the people who came into our city and chose to engage in acts of destruction and violence, undermining their message. If we are to achieve change and if we are to lead the change, our efforts must be rooted in peace and regard for our community,” he continued.
By 11 p.m, the National Guard was called in to help quell the violence.
Boston and State Police,
who had largely observed activity during daylight hours, mobilized in force after dark and were targeted by water bottles and other items hurled from the crowd.
The outbreak of violence capped a day that saw three separate protests proceed peacefully during the daylight hours, with police mostly just monitoring activity from the side.
“George Floyd: Say his name,” Mahira Louis, of Revere, screamed out as the crowd around her on Tremont Street marched around the Common Sunday after- noon.
“I want a change. I want our voices to be heard. … Just because of my skin color, I deserve to be killed? No. I don’t want to go outside and think damn, am I going to die today? Since I’m black I have to worry about that, especially for my dad and my uncle because they keep killing them,” Louis told the Herald.
Floyd, 44, was killed in police custody last Monday. Now-fired Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, 44, pinned his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as the handcuffed Floyd cried out for his mother and told Chauvin repeatedly he couldn’t breathe. The incident sparked massive demonstrations in cities across the nation.
Chauvin was arrested late Friday morning and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
“Every struggle I’ve had can never compare to what the black community faces every day,” 15-year-old Brookline High School sophomore Elliot Lazarova-Weng shouted through a bullhorn as he spoke to a growing crowd of demonstrators outside of Government Center at an afternoon demonstration. “I am standing here today to say it is our job to stand up for our black brothers and sisters and do our part.”
Lazarova-Weng organized the Sunday afternoon protest with a group of other high school students following the news of Floyd’s killing.
Another group of protesters Sunday afternoon gathered on Malcolm X Boulevard, taking a knee and holding a moment of silence in front of Boston Police headquarters for 8 minutes and 49 seconds, representing the amount of time Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck.
During the evening march from Nubian Square to the State House, an event organized by Black Boston, a group separate from Black Lives Matter, thousands of people streamed through the streets while police monitored activity.
Boston Police said they would not release information on arrests until today. Police presence was muted at the afternoon rally as people marched peacefully. Cops turned out in force after dark as protesters dispersed from the Common streamed into Downtown Crossing.