A protest in Oakland Friday night over the police-custody death in Minneapolis of George Floyd devolved into chaos, with fires being set, windows smashed, police officers struck by thrown objects and tear gas and rubber bullets fired at protesters.
Thousands of people took to Oakland’s streets in what began as a largely spirited but peaceful assembly four days after Floyd, a black man, died after a white police officer pinned him to the ground by kneeling on his neck and refusing to let up, even as the man yelled that he couldn’t breathe.
Protesters spray painted buildings, stopped traffic on I-880, threw fireworks and set fires inside some buildings. At one point, Several people tore off the wooden boards at Walgreens near 14th Street and Broadway near Oakland City Hall and used the boards to break their way in. They ran out with baskets with merchandise. A fire was ignited inside the store.
At the corner of Eighth Street and Broadway, protesters shattered the windows and glass doors of a Starbucks. Protesters also smashed windows at City Hall and a Chase bank.
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The doors of a Target at 27th Street and Broadway were smashed and a fire burned in a dumpster across the street. Clothing, hangers and bedding were strewn outside the store. People formed an assembly line to loot. One person ran back and forth and handed off merchandise to people standing outside.
Smoke billowed out of a Mercedes Benz showroom near 29th Street and Broadway. The windows of a Honda dealership at 33th Street and Broadway were smashed.
A person spray-painted outside City Hall, “We have nothing to lose but our chains.” Another group of protesters tore a row of Lyft bikes out of the pavement nearby city hall and dragged it out into the middle of the street. The dock that held the bikes was set on fire. And a large trash bin was set ablaze.
Just before 11 p.m., police officers walked in a line up 14th Street toward Broadway, pushing protesters back from where a fire had been set in the middle of the road. Officers deployed smoke bombs to disperse the crowd. A large fire was also burning near the 19th Street BART station.
Earlier in the evening, at Seventh and Broadway, police declared an unlawful assembly and deployed tear gas after officers were struck by thrown objects.
Half of the protest has blocked Hwy 101 in San Jose. The other half is watvhing from Santa Clara Street pic.twitter.com/gocHkMay4t
— Katie Lauer (@_katielauer) May 29, 2020
Protesters poured milk or water in their eyes bending over on the sidewalks and in the street once they had retreated.
Officials estimated more than 5,000 people were protesting in Oakland. One officer was injured and several people were detained, said Johnna Watson, a spokeswoman for the Police Department.
Two security guards were shot near 12th and Clay streets. The shooting doesn’t appear to be related to the demonstration, the police department said.
In San Jose, police officers fired rubber bullets and deployed tear gas on hundreds of protesters outside of San Jose’s City Hall Friday evening as people chanted “F— the police.” People screamed, “Gas, gas, gas” as loud flash bangs could be heard and smoke filled the air near Fifth and Santa Clara streets.
At least one officer was injured during the protest and was taken to Valley Medical Center, said Mayor Sam Liccardo. The officer’s condition was unknown. Several arrests were made, Liccardo said.
Dozens of people keeled over, coughing, and poured water into their eyes. Some protesters weaved throughout the dense crowd, shouting, “Water, who needs water?”
Kiara Topete, a 19-year-old from Milpitas, said she was standing in front of police when one shot her with a rubber bullet in the shin.
“I didn’t do anything, I didn’t throw anything, I didn’t pose a threat to them, they just shot me,” she said. “It burns. It really hurts, I’ve never felt anything like this.”
Several people picked up spent gas canisters and water bottles, hurling them toward the line of police blocking City Hall. Police responded by deploying more tear gas and firing rubber bullets.
Just before 9 p.m., most of the crowd had dissipated. A charred trash bin remained in the middle of the street near City Hall. A destroyed Toyota 4Runner sat at the corner of Third and Santa Clara streets. And police remained on guard.
At 9:06 p.m., Santa Clara County Sheriff deputies were involved in a shooting that occurred just blocks away at Sixth and Santa Clara streets, said Sgt. Enrique Garcia, a spokesman from the San Jose Police Department.
Garcia did not provide any additional information.
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In Oakland, earlier in the evening outside City Hall, a couple hundred protesters were gathered, some spilling out onto 14th Street, near the intersection of Broadway, to block traffic. People chanted, “Black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace.”
Interim Police Chief Susan Manheimer tweeted a video from just outside the skirmish line and called for a peaceful protest.
“OPD is here to ensure a safe environment for peaceful demonstration,” she said. “If you’re out here, let’s keep it safe, let’s make Oakland strong.”
Brianna Noble, 25, from Oakland, rode a horse down Broadway with a cardboard sign that read, “Black Lives Matter.”
“We’re just bringing some attention to the issue at hand in a positive, non-violent way,” Noble said. “Horses bring attention.”
Some people held signs that read, “Justice for George” and “I can’t breathe.”
Corey Murphy, 44, of San Jose, held a sign in Oakland that read, “Hands Up Don’t Shoot.” He said it’s “ridiculous that we’re still going through this.”
“We’re just sick and tired of being sick and tired,” he said. “We’ve been asking for help. Nobody’s listening.”
Police drew their batons and formed a barrier near the police headquarters at Seventh Street and Broadway. “Why don’t y’all come stand with us?” one person asked the officers.
The action came on the same day the now-fired Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in the horrific death, which was caught on video. In the video, bystanders can be heard pleading with the officer to get off of Floyd to no avail.
Floyd became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead.
Chauvin, 44 — the officer seen in the video kneeling on Floyd’s neck, was one of four officers at the scene who were fired. Minneapolis police said the officers were responding to a report of an alleged forgery, and that Floyd resisted arrest.
The case has incited riots in Minneapolis and civil unrest in cities across the United States.
In Minneapolis on Thursday night, demonstrators filled the streets and rallied for justice in Floyd’s death, the Minneapolis police’s Third Precinct headquarters was set ablaze, and President Trump announced he was deploying the National Guard to respond to assist local law enforcement.
Ahead of Friday’s protest in Oakland, the city’s police department said it had increased staffing to “facilitate freedom of speech, while also maintaining public safety.”
Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, told The Chronicle that officials are coordinating the “law enforcement mutual aid response” for Oakland and plan to “ bring in substantial resources if the need arises.”
“We are closely monitoring the situation on a minute to minute basis as these situations can rapidly evolve,” Kelly said. “We are hopeful the protest will be peaceful and non-violent.”
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf described Floyd’s death a “killing” and a “nauseating act of government violence against a Black man.” Manheimer, said in a statement Thursday that she joins the “community in denouncing this incident and all incidents of police brutality.”
San Francisco police Chief Bill Scott and San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia joined Oakland officials in condemning the officers’ conduct, each calling the incident disturbing and not consistent with the values law enforcement is taught to uphold.
Chronicle Staff Writer Rachel Swan contributed to this report.
Lauren Hernández, Megan Cassidy, Matt Kawahara and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com; megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com; mkawahara@sfchronicle.com; sravani@sfchronicle.com
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