ORLANDO PROTEST DRAWS THOUSANDS
Largest crowd yet marches for Floyd; night ends with tear gas at City Hall
A fourth day of protests in downtown Orlando ended Tuesday night with a sit-in at City Hall after the 10 p.m. curfew, leading to police throwing tear gas canisters and making arrests.
Several hundred people sat down in front of City Hall, where the protest had started with an organized rally seven hours earlier.
“We are gonna sit here, like our brothers [and] sisters [during the Civil Rights era],” one protester said. Others threw water bottles at a police bike barrier.
Police threatened to make arrests if they stayed past curfew, but as 10 p.m. passed, the protesters stayed.
“We will be gassed,” an organizer warned.
Shortly after 10, that’s exactly what happened as police ordered the protesters to leave. When police moved in, many of the protesters scattered.
The protest was peaceful for most of the day, as thousands of people -- the biggest crowd yet -joined demonstrators in at least 140 cities nationwide protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer kept his knee on his neck for more than 8 minutes as Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe."
The crowds were so large that the Orlando Police Department urged people to stay away.
“Police activity throughout downtown Orlando to assist with large demonstrations," it tweeted and sent to area residents in a robo-call. "Please stay inside and avoid the area if possible.”
In a tense moment as it got closer to the 10 p.m. curfew, protesters on Jackson Street shouted, “Remove the masks, de-escalate” at officers blocking the street with bikes while wearing gas masks and goggles. “Why are you wearing riot gear? There’s no riot here,” they chanted.
One by one OPD officers began taking off their gas masks.
“We couldn't get a single one to take them off when we tried on Saturday, but this time we did," protester Aston Mack said.
Many in the crowd pointed out some officers refused to remove their gas masks, but Mack said in a speech it was a step forward.
“If we're going to hold them accountable when they're wrong, we need to praise them when they do right,” he said.
Tuesday's protest began at Orlando City Hall for a planned rally during which speaker after speaker delivered emotional calls for the election of state attorneys willing to prosecute police, an end to over-policing and police surveillance, as well as a living wage. Protesters listened with rapt attention, applauding at each pause.
Nearly 50 police officers stood side-by-side along the front steps of the City Hall, looking on stoically as protesters chanted for them to “take a knee,” a common occurrence at protests over Floyd's death.
During a moment of silence for victims of police brutality, one officer put his fist over his heart in what appeared to be a gesture of support. Orlando police Chief Orlando Rolón joined his officers at the protest.
Tamika Lyles, president of Osceola County Black Caucus, said she gets asked all the time about vandalism and looting in connection with the “Justice for George” protests.
“That's not us. That's not us,” she told the crowd. “We're angry, yes. We're angry. But tearing our own house down is not what we do. We plan and we strategize.”
There have been reports of vandalism and business burglaries since protests began last week, though it's not clear whether the break-ins were carried out by protesters or others looking to take advantage. Orlando has so far largely avoided the destruction and looting seen in other cities.
Speeches wrapped up at about 4:30 p.m., and the group began walking, soon arriving at Orlando Police Department Headquarters at South Street and Orange Blossom Trail.
“OPD, take a knee,” they chanted.
Angel Newsholme, 19, handed out snacks and bottles of water to protesters, which he has been doing since Saturday.
He came to the protest against the wishes of his grandmother, concerned about COVID-19 and worried that this new push for police reform will once again fall on deaf ears.
“I'm trying to prove that us millennials and younger folk have a voice,” said Newsholme, adding he has been profiled by police in the past. “As a trans, Hispanic and black man, I'm out here trying to change how we're treated.”
Becca Aden of Orlando, who fled Somalia to America with her family when she was 7, wore a T-shirt with a picture of Africa.
“I have five brothers who are African American, and they have been harassed by police for driving fancy cars,” she said.
She said she remembers military police patrolling the streets as a child and is disturbed by the actions of law enforcement over the last week, such as dispersing peaceful protestors with tear gas.
“Some is the things I've seen on TV remind me of
Somalia,” she said.
Faith Karwacki of Apopka walked with a homemade sign on her backpack stating she had “First Aid, Water, Snacks.” She said she had masks and gloves for those who needed them, too – inspired by activist friends' Facebook posts.
Karwacki noted she has attended similar large gatherings, like Pride, in the past.
“We should make an effort to come out and listen to folks,” she said.
Protests have happened daily in Central Florida since Thursday, when dozens first gathered outside a Windermere-area townhouse owned by Derek Chauvin, the white officer recorded kneeling on the 46-year-old black man's neck.
Video of the incident caught fire online, prompting protests in dozens of U.S. cities and, in some cases, violence, property damage and looting. Chauvin has since been fired and charged with murder and manslaughter.
After demonstrations outside the townhouse Friday, protesters gathered by the thousands in downtown Orlando on Saturday and Sunday. Both days, peaceful and orderly marches through the city's core during the day became chaotic as night fell and tempers flared.
Thirty people were arrested in Orlando over the weekend, on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to inciting riots.
On Tuesday night, some protesters at OPD headquarters saw reason for hope.
“[Some of the officers] were hearing us, but they didn't want to acknowledge us," protester Bakari X said. "But you could tell ... they felt what we were saying.”