Name: Detroit leaders say suburban troublemakers, not national groups, spoiled peaceful rally
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Detroit leaders say suburban troublemakers, not national groups, spoiled peaceful rally

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Detroit Free Press Detroit's&nbsp;political leaders and longtime&nbsp;community activists don't always agree, but Saturday they spoke with one voice to blame suburbanites for the violence that marred a rally against police brutality.&nbsp;"These outsiders put our community in harm's way," said the Rev. Charles Williams of the Michigan Chapter of the&nbsp;National Action Network, speaking&nbsp;of suburbanites who joined Detroiters late Friday during a downtown standoff with police.But unlike other cities where peaceful protests turned violent,&nbsp;Detroit officials said they do not have evidence agitators from outside Michigan are the problem. In Minnesota, where protesters invaded a Minneapolis police precinct last week, the governor&nbsp;said he believes 80% of the rioters&nbsp;are from outside the state. Minnesota Lt.&nbsp;Gov. Peggy Flanagan said Saturday:&nbsp;"There are detractors. There are white supremacists. There are anarchists."&nbsp;More:More:Demonstrators again mustered at&nbsp;Detroit Public Safety Headquarters&nbsp;Saturday about 4 p.m. and began marching. By 9 p.m., the crowd had swelled and moved into the central business district.Some people kneeled at the Joe Louis fist at Jefferson and Woodward,&nbsp;turning their cellphone lights on&nbsp;for a 90-second moment of silence for the “brothers and sisters” who died at&nbsp;the hands of the police. Helicopters hovered overhead and some people climbed on top of the fist, seemingly unconcerned they could damage&nbsp;one of the city's most iconic artworks.By&nbsp;10 p.m., the air was filled with the sound of fireworks,&nbsp;police sirens and honking horns. Protesters cheered and held up their phones to capture and, possibly, broadcast the chaos.One protester said: "Get on Facebook and tell everyone to get to Detroit right now." Others added: "We are going to be here all night" and "we are going to shut it down."Saturday's demonstrations marked the second night&nbsp;protesters filled downtown streets. On Friday, clusters of people&nbsp;clashed with cops on Randolph Street&nbsp;hours after the scheduled conclusion of what was billed as a "rally and picket for justice against police brutality." The rally was one of many held across the country after&nbsp;a Minneapolis police officer was recorded kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, whose pleas that he could not breathe were ignored before he fell unconscious and died.In an extraordinary show of solidarity, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Police Chief James Craig were literally on the same side as Williams and other veteran&nbsp;activists as they sat facing the media Saturday at&nbsp;Detroit Public Safety Headquarters. Less than 24 hours earlier, protesters gathered in front of headquarters to listen to speeches&nbsp;before marching down Michigan Avenue to the Michigan Central Depot and looping back to downtown.Unlike the largely unknown leaders of the&nbsp;Metro-Detroit Political Action Network, which used Facebook to promote&nbsp;Friday's protest, the activists&nbsp;Duggan and Craig invited to sit with them had longstanding relationships with police. They said they don't always agree with police, but value their access to the chief and police officials.&nbsp;By contrast, the&nbsp;Metro-Detroit Political Action Network posted on its Facebook page:&nbsp;"Many who broke off from our demonstration (which ended at 6:45 p.m.) encountered heavy brutality from police. Based on video we've seen, everything our speakers talked about came to pass."The also published a list of demands, including the release of all protesters and an investigation to determine if police used excessive force.Police made 60 arrests and are investigating one fatal shooting that occurred just before midnight in the midst of protesters, but that may not have been related to the protest. They also&nbsp;deployed several waves of tear gas to help disperse clusters of restless protesters who lingered as Friday hazily dissolved into Saturday.More:More:Craig said the shooting victim was a 21-year-old Eastpointe man. The shooting occurred late Friday on Congress, just two blocks from city hall. The gunshots&nbsp;startled&nbsp;Fox 2 reporter Jessica Dupnack, causing&nbsp;her to utter&nbsp;an expletive during what had been an otherwise measured&nbsp;live report. Police were&nbsp;not near the man when he was shot.&nbsp;A&nbsp;police captain&nbsp;suffered a concussion after he was hit by a rock and an officer&nbsp;fell and injured his shoulder. Protesters damaged seven police vehicles, some of which they kicked and hurled objects at as police sat inside.Craig said only 23 of the 60 people arrested for disorderly conduct were from Detroit.&nbsp;The others hailed from suburbs including&nbsp;Farmington Hills, Warren and Dearborn."Protest in your own backyard," the Rev. Wendell&nbsp;Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP said during the briefing with Craig and the mayor. "Don't come here and tear the city up and then go back home. That's putting another knee on the neck of black folk.""Detroit's got Detroit," said Ray Winans, CEO of Keeping Them Alive, who works with young people and also attended the briefing. "Anything that's peaceful, we're all for it. We don't need chaos."Activists placed some blame on the organizers of the original rally, which was scheduled for 4 to 5:30 p.m. Friday. Word spread via social media, but it appeared organizers did not have a plan to weed out troublemakers.&nbsp;Maurice "Pastor Mo" Hardwick of the Live in Peace Movement said experienced protesters typically communicate with police before they hold an event. And he warned upstarts to learn."You better check in with us," he said, "and let us school you."Anthony added that&nbsp;successful protests are staffed with marshals who wear identification and are tasked with identifying flareups and defusing situations before they get out of hand.Hours before things turned violent late Friday, small groups of angry protesters surrounded police on foot or in police cars on Michigan Avenue, shouting obscenities at them and trying to provoke a reaction.When protesters veered off Michigan Avenue to confront police standing by in riot gear, bystanders urged them to return to the march as the officers loaded into police vans and drove away. They were later deployed to Randolph as the impromptu rally turned ugly.Craig said officers were instructed to use tear gas four separate times during the protest to disperse the protesters, who were warned three times after officers took a significant number of projectiles.Craig and Duggan raised concerns over the crowds given Michigan's challenges fighting the coronavirus, which&nbsp;has disproportionately affected the black&nbsp;community.Duggan said that in addition to&nbsp;mourning the 1,356 Detroiters lost to COVID-19, people are hurting over the&nbsp;deaths of Floyd and other black men and women killed by police. He said violent protests are yet another blow to people eager to emerge from the pandemic."We have nearly beaten this coronavirus," Duggan said. "This is the week we should be talking about reopening restaurants and hair and nail salons and businesses and getting people back to work. We nearly have this beaten. As I'm watching this crowd, many of whom are crowded in with no masks and no regard for the health of Detroiters, I'm thinking, 'What happens if this spikes back up? And when these folks go back home and the virus is spreading in this community?' We can't let that happen."Duggan praised the activist community for their record of peaceful organization and partnership with the Detroit Police Department and&nbsp;said it was a relatively small number of outsiders who&nbsp;caused trouble&nbsp;Friday."They came here to damage property and to throw rocks and bottles at our police," the mayor said.&nbsp;Due to the tightly-packed&nbsp;crowd&nbsp;and violence that occurred Friday, Williams said he would advise his members to stay away from another rally called for Saturday afternoon. He and other activists at the briefing said they did not know much about the group that organized Friday's protest."We made it very clear to all of our members today that we will not be participating in any unknown protest with unknown leaders or no phone numbers or identification," Williams&nbsp;said.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Detroit&nbsp;protests took place as tension and violence sparked in cities nationwide over the death of Floyd. Other cities with protests include&nbsp;Los Angeles;&nbsp;Louisville, Kentucky; Des Moines, Iowa; Detroit,&nbsp;Atlanta,&nbsp;and Washington, D.C.At a news conference Thursday, Craig called the event&nbsp;a "tragic and wrongful death.""On behalf of the city and Detroit Police Department, our prayers go out to the victim, George Floyd, his family, his friends, and everyone in the city of Minneapolis. Based on my 44 years of experience, I can tell you when even one officer engages in the use of excessive force, we all share the disappointment for the dishonor it brings to our badge," Craig said. "Those of us in law enforcement take a solemn oath to protect and serve with courage, integrity&nbsp;and respect. And that is what the community expects."&nbsp;Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II said&nbsp;in a joint statement Saturday&nbsp;this is&nbsp;"one of the most challenging periods in our lifetimes.""People in communities of color across the nation and right here in Michigan are feeling a sense of exhaustion and desperation. Communities are hurting, having felt the calls for equity, justice, safety, and opportunity have gone unheard for too long," the statement reads. "We stand in solidarity with those who are seeking equitable justice for everyone in our state. We can't live in a society and a country where our rights and our dignity are not equal for all. The First Amendment right to protest has never been more important, and in this moment when we are still battling a killer virus, it is crucial that those who choose to demonstrate do so peacefully, and in a way that follows social distancing guidelines to protect public health.&nbsp;"Our administration is working closely with local elected officials, public safety, and faith, and youth leaders to encourage communities across the state to designate areas for peaceful demonstrations where people can make their voices heard. There will no doubt be more tough days ahead, but we must pull together and treat our fellow Michiganders with dignity, compassion, and humanity."&nbsp;Anthony urged protesters to turn away from violence."Real activists know how to act," he said. "We're in solidarity with everybody who wants to protest. ... It should not overpower and cover the real issue."M.L. Elrick is a Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter. Contact him at&nbsp;melrick@freepress.com&nbsp;or follow him on Twitter at&nbsp;&nbsp;on&nbsp;Facebook at&nbsp;&nbsp;or on Instagram at ml_elrick.&nbsp;

Detroit Free Press Detroit's&nbsp;political leaders and longtime&nbsp;community activists don't always agree, but Saturday they spoke with one voice to blame suburbanites for the violence that marred a rally against police brutality.&nbsp;"These outsiders put our community in harm's way," said the Rev. Charles Williams of the Michigan Chapter of the&nbsp;National Action Network, speaking&nbsp;of suburbanites who joined Detroiters late Friday during a downtown standoff with police.But unlike other cities where peaceful protests turned violent,&nbsp;Detroit officials said they do not have...

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The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primarily serves Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Washtenaw, and Monroe counties.  The Free Press is also the largest city newspaper owned by Gannett, which also publishes USA Today. The Free Press has received ten Pulitzer Prizes and four Emmy Awards. Its motto is "On Guard for 189 Years".

Detroit leaders say suburban troublemakers, not national groups, spoiled peaceful rally

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