San Jose woman arrested after allegedly running 2 people over during protest

Sheriff’s deputy shot at SUV before it sped away

UPDATED: May 30, 2020 at 8:02 pm

SAN JOSE — A 26-year-old woman has been arrested after allegedly hitting two people with an SUV Friday night during a San Jose protest, fleeing the scene after a sheriff’s deputy fired once at the vehicle.

Just after 9 p.m. and hours into a tense demonstration against the death of Minnesota man George Floyd, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office deputies and protesters alike watched on as a Dodge Durango entered the blocked-off intersection at Sixth and Santa Clara streets.

The car first drove toward a group of protesters and then attempted to make a U-turn — running over two men in reverse, video of the incident shows. Believing that the hit was intentional, a Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputy fired at the fleeing SUV, according to San Jose police Officer Gina Tepoorten.

As it drove away, a San Jose police officer at the scene was able to record the plate of the suspect SUV, Tepoorten said. The two men were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and have been released, per police; no deputies were injured.

Protester Saul Duarte was filming the scene at around 9:05 p.m. as the car plowed into the protesters and sped off.

“The vehicle was coming my way and I ran to the side,” he said. “The whole crowd started chasing the car but it got away. After that, everyone surrounded the two injured people and tried helping but the cops started tear-gassing us.”

Over the next day, detectives linked the vehicle to suspect Bianca Orozco, 26, at her residence in San Jose, Tepoorten said. She was arrested Saturday and booked into Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of attempted murder.

She remains in custody on no bail status, according to county jail records.

The San Jose Police Department is investigating the incident, as is the District Attorney’s Office.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Isidro Bagon or Detective Ramon Sanchez of the San Jose Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 408-277-5283.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/30/san-jose-woman-arrested-after-allegedly-running-2-people-over-during-protest/

Tear gas, grief, shooting and smashed windows: Bay Area convulses as George Floyd protests sweep nation

Police defend use of tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets

May 30, 2020 at 7:04 pm

A week of rising unrest across the country burned through Oakland and San Jose on Friday night as thousands of demonstrators rallied against police brutality in heated demonstrations that began peacefully, then spiraled into chaos, with crowds setting fires, smashing windows and looting stores, and heavily armed law enforcement confronting protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades.

In Friday’s most severe violence, a gunman opened fire on two federally contracted security officers in downtown Oakland, killing one and critically wounding the other in an act federal authorities described as “domestic terrorism.” But while the federal complex was one of dozens of buildings damaged during the protest, it remained unclear Saturday whether the shooting had any link to the demonstration that was raging just steps away over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

And in San Jose, two people were injured when an SUV plowed into a group of protesters outside city hall. A Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputy fired at the SUV as it fled, police said, and authorities arrested the alleged driver on suspicion of attempted murder Saturday.

Riot gear-clad law enforcement in both cities made dozens of arrests and drew further scrutiny from critics — and defenses from police leaders — for their tactics.

By Saturday, cleaning crews, business owners and broom-wielding volunteers were cleaning graffiti and sweeping broken glass from the sidewalks.

Hundreds more people gathered to continue the protests in San Francisco and in cities across the country, with more marches planned for the Bay Area in the coming days.

The clashes between police and protesters were the most chaotic San Jose has seen in decades, according to the city’s police chief. In Oakland, they harkened back to the violent confrontations of the Occupy era in 2011, and were a clear parallel to the unrest that followed the police killing of Oscar Grant in 2009.

“I feel like they don’t listen to us when we’re quiet, so when we get rowdy they really want to start listening,” said 18-year-old Terri’nae Williams, who stood on Broadway in downtown Oakland late Friday night after crowds had dispersed.

The demonstrations were part of a national wave of grief and anger over the police killing of George Floyd, a black man who died on Memorial Day in Minneapolis after an officer knelt with his knee pressed onto Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes during an arrest that was captured in a now-viral video. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter Friday, but that has done little to quell the anger Floyd’s killing sparked over generations of complaints about police brutality from people of color.

San Jose’s protest began early Friday afternoon, with hundreds of demonstrators from across the Bay Area gathering outside city hall and stopping traffic in both directions on Highway 101 and on city streets to show their solidarity with Floyd.

Police said they decided to disperse the demonstration after protesters took over the freeway, and after some vandalized police cars and civilian vehicles and businesses.

“We went into this allowing them to be peaceful. Then they started going on the highway, and then they vandalized and spray-painted our patrol cars,” San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia said Saturday. “This wasn’t a peaceful protest any longer.”

more:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/30/tear-gas-grief-shooting-and-smashed-windows-bay-area-convulses-as-george-floyd-protests-sweep-nation/

Protesters out in force for second night in Oakland and San Francisco

May 30, 2020 8:10 pm

Protesters refused to heed official pleas to stay home Saturday, instead taking to Bay Area streets, where police officers in riot gear readied for another night of outrage related to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In Oakland, crowds started to gather well before dark, chanting and yelling in front of boarded up stores and buildings damaged and looted the night before.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf called on protesters to stay home Saturday night to prevent those who wanted to smash windows, vandalize and loot businesses from hiding among peaceful protesters as they did Friday night.

“Protest and free speech are a part of Oakland’s DNA,” the mayor said at a Saturday afternoon news conference, “but I am asking people to stay home. These vandals are using peaceful protesters as a shield.”

Angry crowds across the country ignored such requests as well as more stringent curfews.

Hundreds of people defied the 8 p.m. curfew in Minneanpolis, challenging police at the city’s fenced off 5th Precinct. Similar curfews were in place in more than a dozen U.S. cities.

In Utah, Gov. Gary Herbert activated the state National Guard after protesters were seen with rifles in Salt Lake City.

Authorities were ramping up law enforcement across the country after a deadly and devastating night on Friday that came in the wake of Floyd dying after he was handcuffed by police and despite repeatedly saying he was unable to breathe while an officer pressed a knee onto his neck.

In Oakland, Kendall Cantave was among the crowd Saturday who defied Schaaf, standing at 14th Street and Broadway in Oakland early evening Saturday after skipping the protest the night before.

The world needs change, he said, and the nation’s leaders have not listened to people’s demands for too long, said the San Francisco resident.

“There comes a time when people gotta come together,” he said. “We need unity. This is a peaceful movement.”

But on Friday, 40 suspected looters were detained and another 17 demonstrators arrested in a downtown Oakland protest that quickly devolved into a vandalism and looting spree as demonstrators smashed windows and set fires inside buildings in a show of outrage over Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis. As many as 60 other protesters could be arrested for looting after police review video evidence, interim Police Chief Susan Manheimer said.

Manheimer said 31 first responders were injured, mostly from thrown objects, including 17 Oakland police officers and seven from other law enforcement agencies called in to assist.

The vandalism left the downtown streets covered in broken glass that crunched as cars drove over it early Saturday. Graffiti covered the walls of buildings along Broadway.

more:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/60-detained-for-looting-22-arrested-after-15305401.php

(they keep re-using urls but changing stories)