Much of central Philadelphia to be closed off after violence
Officials in Philadelphia announced plans to close off much of the center of the city Sunday after peaceful protests over George Floyd’s death turned into a night of destruction with store windows smashed near City Hall, merchandise taken from stores and police and other vehicles and structures set afire.
In Philadelphia, business owners, workers and volunteers got to work sweeping up broken glass and boarding up broken windows even as people could still be seen emerging from broken-into stores carrying bags. Crews were also cleaning up anti-police and other graffiti scrawled on the walls of City Hall.
Mayor Jim Kenney said the destruction in Center City “saddened and disappointed me beyond words, and I’m sure it saddened every Philadelphian who takes pride in their city.” He said those responsible “not only desecrated private businesses, they also desecrated the important message that was heard in the earlier peaceful protests.”
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, the first black woman to lead the department, said many of those responsible for injuries, vandalism and fires weren’t acting in alignment with the peaceful protesters but with the intent to destroy “and quite frankly, those folks didn’t look like me.”
“So to hold up a “Black Lives Matter” sign and then use the destruction that they were committing in the name of Black Lives Matter is not only a slap in the face but is completely a setback for everything that’s been accomplished by those who have been working to improve civil rights over the many, many decades and those of us who are working internally to do our part to fix the issues within the criminal justice system,” she said.
Outlaw said many of those more than 200 people were arrested, including 48 for burglary/looting and three for assault on police officers. Four city and state police vehicles were set afire and nine other fires were set to vehicles and structures.
Thirteen officers were left with injuries such as chemical burns, broken extremities and head injuries, with one still hospitalized after being struck by a vehicle. Police were working to confirm the number of civilians injured, she said.
Outlaw said much of Center City “from South (Street) to Vine (Street), from river to river” — from the Schuylkill River to the Delaware River — would be blocked off, affecting roads, bridges and expressway entrances and exits as well as the city’s transit agency. An 8 p.m. curfew in the city was again in effect Sunday night.