Name: Accusations fly between police and protesters one day after violent clash injured dozens
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Accusations fly between police and protesters one day after violent clash injured dozens

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AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneAug 17, 2020 at 8:52 pmViolent clashes Saturday between protesters and Chicago police were followed on Sunday by news conferences, the circulation of numerous videos from the scene and a barrage of social media posts blaming the opposing side.The city’s top cop blamed “agitators” for “hijacking” a demonstration and protesters blamed officers for violating their rights and blocking their march, hitting them with batons. Mayor Lori Lightfoot seemed to align herself with the Police Department, while other politicians signed a statement saying they stood with protesters, alleging officers “kettled, pepper sprayed, and beat demonstrators — some of them as young as 17.”AdvertisementHundreds of protesters had gathered in Millennium Park about 4 p.m. Saturday in what began as a call to defund Chicago police and divert the money to the South and West sides — issues that have dominated demonstrations in Chicago and across the country since the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. The demonstration was organized by GoodKids MadCity, Blck Rising, Chicago Freedom School, Fuerte, March For Our Lives Chicago and Increase the Peace.But what happened next varies depending on whom you ask.AdvertisementAuthorities said protesters charged toward officers. At least 17 officers were injured, including a cop repeatedly hit in the head with a skateboard and another officer who may have suffered a broken hand, according to Chicago police Superintendent David Brown, who briefed reporters at CPD headquarters Saturday night.“To protect the peaceful protesters as well as their fellow officers, our officers responded proportionally to get the situation under control,” Brown said.Chicago police released video footage Sunday that they say shows “the initial incident that sparked yesterday’s violence and arrests, as well as the aggravated battery against a CPD officer with a skateboard.” In the annotated video, some protesters can be seen opening umbrellas, and then the group advances on the police line.Protesters had a vastly different account from police of the events, described at news conferences held Sunday by at least two groups that had organized the Saturday protest, GoodKids MadCity and Increase the Peace.Organizers for GoodKids MadCity tagged Lightfoot on Sunday in a post on Twitter, saying, “We want to know your fascist police beat us, unconstitutionally arrested us violating our first amendment rights, &amp; we won’t stop until we !”Berto Aguayo, executive director of Increase the Peace, a community activist who worked on Lightfoot’s mayoral campaign and has in the past been a supporter, was among those who said officers were the aggressors.He said he has been organizing his whole life and had never been met with so much violence.“We would like to see an apology from the mayor’s office and the Chicago Police Department ... for the violence they used to attack Chicago residents,” he said. “Before anything else happens, that’s the prerequisite.”AdvertisementNeither Brown nor Fire Department officials discussed injuries among the protesters, but a Tribune reporter witnessed dozens of demonstrators being treated for cuts and exposure to pepper spray.About two dozen people were arrested as the confrontation stretched into the night, and four were charged with felonies, including aggravated battery to a police officer, officials said.On Sunday, as opposing videos and information spread online, Lightfoot appeared on national television echoing Brown. Yet even before Lightfoot’s appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” a group of lawmakers put out a joint statement denouncing the actions by police and Lightfoot’s seeming support.The letter, posted online by United Working Families, a quasi-political party that often criticizes the mayor, said Chicagoans are told it takes spending 40% of the city budget on police to prevent violence, yet after more shootings occurred this weekend in other parts of town, Lightfoot and Brown “stationed thousands of officers downtown.”“We once again condemn Mayor Lightfoot and Superintendent Brown for their use of police force against these demonstrators Saturday night, and for the continued escalation of surveillance, violence, and detention of protesters. We question the logic of spending police dollars on social media surveillance, pepper spray, and riot gear to beat teenagers while the directives of the federal consent decree go unmet and the murder clearance rate remains abysmally low,” the letter said.Among those who signed the open letter were state Sens. Robert Peters and Celina Villanueva; state Rep. Theresa Mah; Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez and Ald. Andre Vasquez; and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. More names were added throughout the day.AdvertisementBREAKING: Elected officials condemn police crackdown on young protesters Saturday evening. Full statement ⬇️ — United Working Families (@UWFIllinois)The following video footage shows the initial incident that sparked yesterday's violence and arrests, as well as the aggravated battery against a CPD officer with a skateboard. More video will be released throughout the day as it is received. — Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police)It was the second straight weekend during which there have been clashes downtown. On Aug. 9 and 10, hundreds of people swept through the Magnificent Mile and elsewhere downtown and looted stores. Around a dozen officers were injured and more than 100 people were arrested.This weekend, police said they had taken precautions against further unrest by raising bridges over the Chicago River and deploying more officers. Brown declined to give an exact number of cops assigned to Saturday’s protests.Police shout “Move back!” Protesters shout “Our streets!” — Paige Fry (@paigexfry)As about 250 protesters started marching north Saturday on Michigan Avenue, officers began pushing those at the back of the group who were still near Millennium Park, according to Andrea Cespedes, 15, one of the organizers of the protest. She joined other protesters at the Wentworth District station Sunday morning to demand the release of those who had been arrested.Cespedes said the protest escalated again at Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue around 6 p.m. when the demonstrators were stopped by a raised bridge, preventing them from crossing the Chicago River. Officers then prevented them from turning onto Wacker Drive toward Lake Shore Drive.“We started to chant, ‘Let us through,’ but that didn’t work,” said Cespedes, of Chicago Lawn. “A few police officers came up from behind us and began pushing a bunch of the protesters. ... They started beating our protesters with batons. … They started pepper-spraying them and trying to arrest people.”Things just got really violent really quick when police rushed the protester line. — Paige Fry (@paigexfry)Protesters are now chanting “We just want to go home.” — Paige Fry (@paigexfry)Protesters soon began retreating south on Michigan Avenue as officers advanced toward them. “Y’all gotta not be brave!” one protester shouted, encouraging them to back up and get behind the protesters’ line of bikes.AdvertisementDozens of officers wearing helmets with face shields, and carrying batons and shields, walked along a line south on Michigan, pushing the protesters toward Randolph Street.The cops shouted, “Move back!” as protesters yelled back, “Our streets!”Protesters stopped at Michigan and Randolph, and police forced them west on Randolph. The two sides kept their distance for some time until police suddenly rushed the protesters, knocking at least one to the ground, arresting him and using pepper spray on others.One officer is filming all the protesters who are walking through this checkpoint. — Paige Fry (@paigexfry)Police chased protesters toward LaSalle and Adams streets.A line of officers trapped a group of protesters and media at the intersection. Some of the protesters were allowed through the police line after opening their bags for inspection. One officer was seen recording the protesters with a portable camera as they left.“Our intentions were simply to get our voices to be heard and to be peaceful,” Cespedes said. “We did not expect our protest to go this way.”AdvertisementAmong those taken into custody was Jalen Kobayashi, a 19-year-old organizer with GoodKids MadCity. He said police were patting down his girlfriend, Alycia Kamil, when she complained about how she was being treated.Both Kobayashi and Kamil were taken to the Wentworth District station, where they were released Sunday morning. Kobayashi said he was charged with disorderly conduct. “They weren’t working with us,” Kobayashi said. “Absolutely despicable behavior I saw tonight.”Brown called the clashes “a very, very difficult and tenuous event” but said he was proud of the officers’ actions.Some protesters were seen changing their appearances by concealing themselves with black umbrellas, Brown said. It was while demanding the removal of a Christopher Columbus statue.Brown said an officer filmed the entire protest and it would be used “to support any of the investigations that might come out of the actions of protesters or officers.”From about 4 a.m. this morning: Alycia Kamil, with , was released. Her boyfriend, Jalen Kobayashi, who was released earlier after being detained, embraces her. — Paige Fry (@paigexfry)During Lightfoot’s appearance on “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan asked the mayor about various issues, including the violent clashes as well as the federal government response to the pandemic.AdvertisementBrennan began her questions by noting Lightfoot put out a message ahead of the protest Saturday saying she hoped it would remain peaceful, “and that you wouldn’t see a repeat of what happened last Sunday. You called that, last Sunday, a planned attack. Is that what happened this time?”“No, look, unfortunately, what we’ve seen in cities all across the country, not just Chicago, is a continuing wave of protests. The vast majority of these have been peaceful. But what we’ve also seen is people who have embedded themselves in these seemingly peaceful protests and come for a fight,” Lightfoot began.“So what happened yesterday was really over very fairly quickly because our Police Department is resolved to make sure that we protect peaceful protests. But we are absolutely not going to tolerate people who come to these protests looking for a fight and are intending to injure our police officers and injure innocent people who just come to be able to express their First Amendment rights,” she said.. on :"What we've seen is people who have embedded themselves in these seemingly peaceful protests and have come for a fight." On Saturday, 17 officers were injured and 24 arrested after protests turned violent in Mayor Lightfoot's city — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation)Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneAug 17, 2020 at 8:52 pmViolent clashes Saturday between protesters and Chicago police were followed on Sunday by news conferences, the circulation of numerous videos from the scene and a barrage of social media posts blaming the opposing side.The city’s top cop blamed “agitators” for “hijacking” a demonstration and protesters blamed officers for violating their rights and blocking their march, hitting them with batons. Mayor Lori Lightfoot seemed to align herself with the Police Department, while other politicians signed a statement saying they stood with...

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Paige Fry

The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are named), it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It had the 6th highest circulation for American newspapers in 2017.

Accusations fly between police and protesters one day after violent clash injured dozens

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