New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Pain, anger
Statewide protesters decry George Floyd’s death
Residents took to the streets in huge numbers across Connecticut and the nation Saturday in response to the death of George Floyd earlier this week in Minneapolis, with the state seeing apparently peaceful gatherings, including one that shut down a major highway for several hours.
More than 100 people
“I’m tired of having to explain why I am a human being ... and I shouldn’t be killed because I’m darker.” Ashley Bowers, protest organizer
gathered near the Town Hall in Stratford, with hundreds gathering in Middletown, hundreds in Bridgeport and thousands in Hartford.
The protests each featured their own signs, many of which read “black lives matter,” “I can’t breathe” and “no justice, no peace.”
Nationwide protests were sparked by Floyd’s death Monday after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes while he was face down and saying he could not breathe.
More than 2,000 protesters flooded Bushnell Park in Hartford around noon and marched through the streets, according to the Hartford Courant. Police said there were no arrests.
In Bridgeport, the protest started downtown near McLevy Green around noon.
Protesters in Bridgeport spoke to officials, including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who said the group was fighting for justice.
“A new generation helps lead America in demanding accountability,” Blumenthal said on Twitter, sharing an image from the protest. “I’ll work for a Department of Justice investigation and Senate Judiciary hearings. Thanks to young activists in Bridgeport and others around Connecticut, calling for accountability and justice. Your voices are so powerful.”
From there, the protesters marched to the city’s police headquarters at 300 Congress St.
Eventually, around 3:30 p.m., the protest started to spill out onto the nearby Route 8, with what looked to be more than 100 people spread across the northbound and southbound lanes of travel for several hours as local and state police blocked off the highway and rerouted traffic that was stuck on the highway.
The highway’s north and south lanes were shut down between exits 2 and 4 in each direction.
“Your voice will be heard,” state police said in regards to the protesters during an announcement of the highway closure on Twitter.
Bridgeport resident
William Marshall — who posted a public video on social media showing him driving on Route 8 through Bridgeport when the protesters caused state police to shut down the highway — said he understood what brought them out.
“The people are angry, I get it,” Marshall said. “It’s dangerous what they’re doing, but it’s real.”
As Marshall continued to film, a state trooper approached his vehicle and asked if he was OK, then asked him to stay in his vehicle and put it in park to be safe.
Bridgeport is no stranger to protests, having had its fair share following the May 9, 2017, fatal officer-involved shooting of 15-year-old Jayson Negron by Officer James Boulay.
Brian Foley, spokesman for the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said the demonstration on Route 8 in Bridgeport was peaceful.
Around 7:30 p.m., after having traffic shut down on the highway for more than three hours and with state police giving three separate requests for protesters to clear the roadway or be arrested, two individuals “agree to be peacefully and respectfully charged,” Foley said.
He said their charges against the protesters would likely be disorderly conduct; he said they’ll likely each be released on a promise to appear. By 7:40 p.m., the highway reopened to traffic through Bridgeport. State police said there were no injuries or damage to property.
On Friday, Bridgeport Police Chief Armando Perez told Hearst Connecticut Media he had been watching the scene in Minneapolis — calling Floyd’s death a tragedy — to ensure the city was prepared for protests.
“There’s a nice, peaceful protest,” Perez said around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, adding that there were officers assigned to the protest to ensure the safety of the group and the public.
Later Saturday night, Perez described the protest in the city as peaceful overall.
“There’s a lot of anger out there. We ourselves are very upset,” Perez said of his department. “We would have marched with them if we had the opportunity … Bridgeport PD is not the enemy. We don’t like what happened (to George Floyd). We’re appalled.”
Representatives for the Mayor Joe Ganim’s office did not respond to requests for a statement throughout the day Saturday.
More than 750 protesters gathered at the corner of Rapallo Avenue and Main Street in Middletown Saturday night in a peaceful protest where Police Chief William McKenna said he and his department were “sickened” by Floyd’s death.
“It should not have occured,” McKenna said. “We don’t get trained like that. We will never do that in Middletown.”
In Stratford, protesters gathered peacefully near Town Hall around 1 p.m.
Lauren Wright, Ashley Bowers, Sarah Kotsay and Jayla Frederick, a group of friends who attend Stratford High School, said they organized the Stratford protest to show solidarity for those who live in areas impacted by police violence.
“Although we’ve been lucky enough that our community has not been directly affected by these recent events, it’s important for us to acknowledge and stand by those who are being directly affected,” Bowers said, quoting Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Kotsay told those gathered that “silence is not an option. We must give our voices to speak for those who cannot anymore.”
Throughout the protest Stratford cops directed traffic in the area, but there were no confrontations, with the protest’s organizers urging the crowd to be peaceful.
In a prepared statement released Friday, Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick called Floyd’s death a “senseless murder” and said she was “shocked and horrified.”