Protestors shut down Highway 101 in San Jose to decry police violence, George Floyd’s death
Protest began in downtown San Jose near city hall before moving to freeway
May 29, 2020 at 4:39 p.m.
Protestors began gathering around the Bay Area Friday afternoon to demonstrate in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, an African-American man killed in Minneapolis this week.
Hundreds of people walked through downtown San Jose in a protest that began outside of city hall on Friday, stopping traffic on city streets and on Highway 101 southbound near Alum Rock Avenue while chanting “Black Lives Matter.” Many of the protestors were high school and college-aged people who wore face coverings and held signs with the words, “I can’t breathe,” and “Justice for George Floyd.”
A group of protestors also poured onto the freeway at Highway 101 northbound at the Santa Clara Street exit and walked past stopped traffic.
Cars and motorcycles driving past protestors outside of San Jose City Hall honked in support, prompting cheers from those gathered Friday.
Video shown on television showed at least one protester smashing car windows on the freeway, though there is no indication if any other protesters resorted to violence.
In a statement provided to this news organization, the San Jose police department said it was “aware of the planned protest in downtown San Jose. Officers will be assigned to the event to ensure everyone’s safety. We do not provide specifics regarding the number of officers and/or tactics that are operational in nature.”
After marching through downtown San Jose, demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd stopped traffic on Highway 101. The protestors have been peaceful and have moved on toward city hall. Video: Maya Ayoubi pic.twitter.com/xdizzSJLX2
— Mercury News (@mercnews) May 29, 2020
Fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was taken into custody Friday by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd, according to an announcement from Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.
In a video, Chauvin was seen driving his knee into Floyd’s neck while Floyd shouted, “I can’t breathe.”
San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia became one of the first law enforcement officials in the country to denounce Chauvin’s use of force on Wednesday when he tweeted that he wouldn’t hide behind not being on the scene.
“What I saw happen to George Floyd disturbed me and is not consistent with the goal of our mission,” Garcia said. “The act of one, impacts us all.”
A large Friday evening demonstration in Oakland is expected to begin at 8 p.m. at Frank Ogawa Plaza. It’s billed as the Minneapolis Solidarity Demonstration and is one of at least three protests planned in the city this weekend.
Interim Oakland Police Chief Susan Manheimer released a statement Friday saying the members of her department were “deeply disturbed,” by what they observed in the video of Floyd’s death.
“We stand with our community in denouncing this incident and all incidents of police brutality,” Manheimer said. “We stand with all in our community who have traditionally been marginalized, oppressed and who have been harmed by our systems and institutions. We extend our deepest condolences to the family of George Floyd and to that entire community.”
The Anti-Police Terror Project, which did not organize Friday evening’s Oakland protest, is also planning on holding a virtual vigil Saturday afternoon and a car caravan for Floyd and Breonna Taylor, an African-American woman shot to death in her apartment by Louisville police officers in March.
In a statement released Thursday, Cat Brooks and Rebecca Ruiz of the Anti-Police Terror Project explained why the risks associated with protesting during a pandemic outweighed the risk of potentially contracting COVID-19.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/29/protestors-gather-in-oakland-san-jose-to-decry-police-violence-george-floyds-death/