PHOENIX - Police continued trying to disperse protesters gathered in downtown Phoenix hours after a planned rally got underway. Officers deployed tear gas to try to break up crowds.
Officers could be seen chasing one man down 7th Street after 11 p.m. who had been throwing unidentified items at police. Multiple bicycle cops pursued the man, before he collided with one and an officer on foot tackled him.
Police focused much of their efforts on keeping protesters from reaching Interstate 10. They used pepper spray and created human barricade across 7th Street just south of the interstate to block the march. In addition, officers were stationed at on-ramps to keep the crowd from moving onto I-10.
Even though police were keeping protesters from the freeway, they did close the eastbound lanes of I-10, which created a miles-long backup in the Valley, as drivers looked for other routes.
Hours earlier, hundreds of people gathered for a planned protest, which got underway in front of City Hall around 8 p.m. The rally was planned in response to recent fatal shootings of black men by police officers in other areas of the country.
The group was heard chanting in unison as they moved en masse through the streets. At one point, some of the protesters were heard threatening to shut down the freeway.
Shortly after the group moved into the street in front of City Hall, police appeared to have moved one man out of the crowd who appeared to be creating a disturbance. However, it's not known he was taken into custody.
Participants could be heard chanting, "hands up, don't shoot," as well as taking part in a call and response of "what do we want," "justice," "when do we want it," "now."
The rally happened Friday night despite Phoenix city officials requests that the protest be postponed because of a deadly attack on police in Dallas at the end of a similar protest.
"We don't want an incident here,” said Chief Joe Yahner of the Phoenix Police Department. “We want people to do their protest … have a good time, if that's what they want to do, but we want everybody to be safe.”
“We're going to be professional, but we're going to do everything we can to make everybody safe,” he said. “We want them to have that on their mind."
Rev. Jarrett Maupin, who is organizing the protest, says it's appropriate to hold the vigil in Phoenix.
“It is centered on and fueled by a non-violent movement to end racism, police brutality, excessive force, hyper-aggressive policing, racial profiling and racism in general,” said Maupin.
Maupins expressed completely different feelings from one church leader who just spoke during the news conference.
"It has been reported that it is a ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest and ‘Black Lives Matter’ has said that it is not time to do a vigil," said Pastor Warren Stewart, Sr. of the First Institutional Baptist Church. He added the protest is not sanctioned.
Pastor Stewart Sr. says he’s coping through this time with hope and prayer.
“I hope this is not just another window-dressing meeting, so that the police and the mayor and city council would be happy that we came and said that we’re going to work together and continue and to allow systemic racism that causes these issues to go unabated. I hope this is not a window dressing,” he said.
Phoenix Chief of Police Joe Yahner says the shootings impact everyone.
“You know we just lost David Glasser on May 19, so that brings all of that back and it is a dangerous job and you know the police officers that go out there do a great job, day in and day out -- Christmas, New Year’s Eve -- they are going to be out tonight on a Friday night when it’s hot, trying to keep or community safe,” said Yahner.
However, Maupin says there will be 'Black Lives Matter' activists at the protest as well as NAACP members who are at odds with the leadership.
Maupin says in no way shape or form does he plan for this to turn in to some sort of violent protest, but rather a non-violent demonstration of love and the pursuit of justice.
The chief of police says there will be an increased number of police patrolling the streets of downtown Phoenix Friday night -- in fact, double the amount of officers they typically have out on a Friday night.
“I think we’re one of the best departments in the United States,” said Yahner. “We’ll get through this protest. We’ll work hard to ensure the officers’ safety, the community’s safety, and hopefully everything goes smooth.”
