Hundreds of protesters across the D.C. region and beyond took to the streets over the weekend to demonstrate against a black man’s death last Monday in Minneapolis after a white police officer kneeled on his neck.
Some protests turned violent Saturday, as demonstrators set fires, attacked police and vandalized buildings and other property, authorities said.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Sunday that “we certainly empathize that the killing of George Floyd wasn’t the first and that people are expressing outrage and demanding action.”
But “we also recognize that we are proud of our city and we do not want our city to be destroyed,” Miss Bowser said at a press conference.
Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham said Sunday that protests last week had been largely peaceful until about 4 p.m. Saturday, when “agitators” started to throw objects at police officers. At 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, protesters spray-painted Secret Service vehicles and broke their windows, he said.
Three police vehicles were set on fire, and fires were set in dumpsters and at two small businesses, the police chief said. Protesters threw rocks, bottles and incendiary devices at officers, Chief Newsham said, adding that officers responded with pepper spray and Sting-Balls.
Police arrested 17 people, eight of whom have ties to or live in the District, the chief said, adding that the others are from neighboring areas or had no fixed address.
Fourteen were charged with rioting, two were charged with burglary and one was charged with simple assault, he said.
The Metropolitan Police Department is reviewing footage of the downtown district to identify people involved in damaging property and is asking private businesses to review and submit footage, the police chief said.
Eleven officers were injured and one was undergoing surgery for a compound leg fracture that resulted from being hit in the leg with a brick, Chief Newsham said, adding that 29 police vehicles were damaged or spray-painted.
On Friday, more than 1,000 people marched and protested peacefully throughout the District, the chief noted.
Miss Bowser implied that she would not implement a curfew, saying that disruptors are “not likely curfew followers.”
In Virginia’s capital, however, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said Sunday that Gov. Ralph Northam granted his request to impose a curfew from 8 p.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday, adding that the restriction will remain in effect until further notice.
Mr. Stoney denounced the violence that left many protesters injured and businesses damaged.
“That will not be allowed any further in the city of Richmond,” the mayor said.
Photos posted to social media over the weekend showed Confederate statues in Richmond almost entirely covered in graffiti and the building of United Daughters of the Confederacy, a group fighting the removal of the statues, was set on fire and painted with graffiti.
Meanwhile, about 250 people protested Saturday night in Manassas, which resulted in damage to businesses and police vehicles, the injury of four police officers and five arrests, the Prince William County Police Department said Sunday.
Additional officers from the county sheriff’s office, the Manassas City Police Department, Fairfax County Police, Virginia State Police and the Haymarket Police Department were called in to assist during the five-hour period of arrests, Prince William police said.
Police departments in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, and Arlington and Fairfax counties and Alexandria in Virginia said there were no protests in their jurisdictions.
Protests erupted across the nation in response to Mr. Floyd’s death. His arrest was caught on camera and he could be heard saying “I can’t breathe” while a white officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes. Mr. Chauvin was charged Friday with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Sophie Kaplan can be reached at skaplan@washingtontimes.com.
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