Protesters block traffic
Tempe police use pepper spray, detain 7 people
Police pepper-sprayed protesters heading toward Loop 202 who blocked traffic on Scottsdale Road on Monday night in Tempe. Police declared the protest unlawful and arrested seven people.
Police pepper-sprayed protesters heading toward Loop 202 who blocked traffic on Scottsdale Road in Tempe, declared the protest unlawful and arrested seven people on Monday night.
Protesters had gathered at Tempe Beach Park about 5 p.m. Monday in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and seek justice for Dalvin Hollins and Dion Johnson, who were both shot and killed by law enforcement in metro Phoenix.
Monday was the fourth anniversary of when Hollins, 19, was suspected of robbing a Walgreens and fatally shot by Tempe police in 2016.
Organizers said Monday was also the day before what would have been the 29th birthday of Johnson, who was shot and killed by Arizona Department of Public Safety Trooper George Cervantes on May 25.
The protest was calm, with about 200 people marching and at one point singing “Happy Birthday” for Johnson, until about 8 p.m. when police confronted the crowd walking in the road near the intersection of Scottsdale Road and Playa Del Norte Drive.
Demonstrators sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for Dion Johnson
Early Monday evening, a group of about 200 protesters marched onto the Mill Avenue bridge. Some protesters formed a line at the south entrance to the bridge to block traffic as the rest of the protesters marched on the bridge, kneeled in the street and sang “Happy Birthday” for Johnson.
Donshay Johnson, who said he met Dion Johnson in high school and that they were like brothers, held a blue balloon and cried as the song “99 Balloons” by Dizzy Wright played.
Donshay said he wants Dion to be remembered as a king, a revolutionary, a leader and a humble man.
“Someone who cared about his friend, communities, people, and
someone who was against police violence,” Donshay said. “He definitely would be out here with us protesting if he wasn’t dead.”
Along with the organizers, Donshay said he wants the names of everyone involved in Dion Johnson’s death to be released.
“In order for us, anybody, to receive justice, we need everybody out here, we need all bodies out here,” he said. “Come out and be part of the fight. We lost momentum, so we want that momentum back. In order to see real systematic change, we need that momentum, we need the numbers.”
Protesters also hung a large banner on the bridge that said “end qualified immunity,” referencing the legal doctrine that protects law enforcement and other officials from being sued for official actions.
A small group of counter-protesters stood on Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue in support of the police.
Several officers on bicycles, vehicles and motorcycles were nearby, but as of 7 p.m., the protest remained peaceful.
Tempe chief tweets protesters ‘hurl objects’ at police officers
Just before 8 p.m., protesters headed toward police at the intersection of Scottsdale Road and Playa Del Norte
Drive. As police warned the group that they couldn’t block the road, some protesters began putting on goggles and gas masks.
Shortly after, police began pepperspraying people, shot an unknown smoke or gas into the crowd, and detaining people. Volunteer medics began helping several people and the group backed onto the sidewalk.
Tempe police Chief Sylvia Moir posted a tweet implying protesters had thrown items at police.
“It is unacceptable to hurl projectiles at people — cops are people there to protect free expression and provide public safety. When you throw objects at them, that is NOT OK,” she tweeted at 8:18 p.m.
One protester seemed to be unconscious. Volunteer medics said they believe he overheated and carried him out of the area.
Many protesters walked back to Tempe Beach Park, but a few dozen stopped and formed a line at a second intersection at Rio Salado Parkway and Packard Drive.
Police on bicycles and horses and in vehicles arrived at the second intersection with the line of protesters who were not blocking traffic. After waiting for about 15 minutes, police detained more people.
After the protest ended at 10 p.m., Tempe police spokesperson Detective Natalie Barela told The Arizona Republic that police arrested seven people “for various crimes.”
“One officer was injured when an unknown projectile thrown by protesters struck the officer in the face, causing a laceration requiring medical attention. We will provide additional information regarding this incident once it becomes available,” Barela said in an email.
Video captured by azfamily.com showed several officers tackling a man wearing a football helmet and carrying a skateboard. Police also were seen following, pointing a weapon at and detaining Darien Barrett, a well-known activist and organizer of Tempe Against Police Violence, which helped organize Monday’s protest.
Tempe police released a statement Tuesday saying one protester was arrested for assaulting a counterprotester, and that police pepper sprayed the crowd after someone threw an object at an officer, causing a cut that required stitches.
The seven people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing a public thoroughfare, hindering and interfering with police, disorderly conduct, assault and aggravated assault, police stated.
Tempe Against Police Violence, Black Lives Matter Phoenix-Metro, Direct Action Arizona and Young Democratic Socialists of America organized Monday’s protest.
“We’re sick and tired of our folks, our brothers and sisters being killed by the racist police departments,” Barrett said earlier in the evening.
Organizers on Monday demanded that DPS release the name of all officers involved in Johnson’s death, an end to qualified immunity for officers and to terminate officers who are part of wrongful deaths or use of force violations, among other requests.
It was another in nearly two months of protests against racism and police violence in metro Phoenix — the first large protest in Phoenix against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis was May 28.
The Tempe protest came after a group of around 70 people marched the streets in downtown Phoenix on Saturday to support Portland protesters and stand against the deployment of federal officers in Portland.
Protesters moved street barricades, cones and signs in an attempt to block streets on Saturday in addition to burning a Thin Blue Line police flag and hanging a Black Lives Matter banner on a city building entrance.