Name: City Attorney Elliott says protesters arrested for nonviolent offenses won't be prosecuted
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City Attorney Elliott says protesters arrested for nonviolent offenses won't be prosecuted

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Copyright © 2022, The San Diego Union-Tribune | | AdvertisementAdvertisement San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott said she will not pursue prosecutions of people arrested for nonviolent crimes such as failing to disperse or unlawful assembly during protests against police brutality and racial injustice over the past couple of weeks. San Diego police have said they arrested 113 people on charges ranging from unlawful assembly to vandalism, looting and assaulting an officer. Elliott said, however, that people arrested on suspicion of more violent conduct, even if they are also charged with nonviolent crimes at the same time, could still face prosecution. “I have no interest in prosecuting anyone for peacefully protesting,” Elliott said in a statement in response to The San Diego Union-Tribune. “That is a constitutional right and essential to our democracy, especially at this moment in time. However, I am concerned about cases that involve violence, property damage, or looting.”It is unclear how many cases Elliott’s decision would impact. Director of Communications Hilary Nemchik said that city prosecutors have received more than 50 cases from police for review, but did not have an exact figure. She could not say how many were purely nonviolent cases.Nemchik said city prosecutors will be reviewing body-camera footage for each case, and that process “may take months to complete.” AdvertisementMeanwhile the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said it was reviewing a dozen cases from a night of protests in La Mesa that turned violent May 30, leading to arson fires, looting and vandalism. It was the first official indication of how many people had been arrested in connection with the unrest, which damaged numerous buildings in downtown La Mesa including three that were burned.Communications Director Steve Walker said no cases have been formally charged in court. All of the arrests came between May 30 and June 1 at protests in La Mesa and downtown San Diego that were organized in the wake of the killing by Minneapolis police of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man. The protests, which have focused attention on racial injustice, police abuse and discrimination, have continued around the county for two weeks, all of them peaceful and without incident — a sharp contrast to the earlier three-day period.San Diego police said they arrested 94 people after a day-long demonstration May 30 that ended with stores being looted and vandals breaking windows and spray painting buildings in the downtown area. Police said the charges included assaulting officers and failure to disperse. Another 17 people were arrested after a demonstration the following night. All but one were charged with unlawful assembly. That is a similar charge to failure to disperse; both are misdemeanors. One person was arrested on suspicion of vandalism, police said at the time.Walker said that county prosecutors received three cases from San Diego for review, referring one to the city attorney, rejecting prosecution on a second and initially deciding to charge one case of a man accused of shining a laser at police helicopters.On Wednesday, however, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego said it had charged the man, 24-year-old Rudy Alvarez of Lemon Grove, in federal court. He faces one count of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft. Prosecutors said a San Diego police helicopter was over a large demonstration on Saturday passing through Hillcrest when officers reported someone was shining a laser at their aircraft. Based on the description from officers Alvarez was located in the crowd more than an hour later and arrested, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He appeared in downtown federal court Friday where bond was set at $5,000, according to the release. He is the second person charged by federal prosecutors in connection with the protests. On Monday, Zachary Karas, 28, of San Diego was charged with possessing a Molotov cocktail during the protest in La Mesa. Court documents say Karas said he’d planned to light fires at City Hall but didn’t follow through. He pleaded not guilty on Monday. Sign up to get Breaking News email alerts Get alerts on severe weather, road closures and other major breaking news. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Show Comments Load More Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement

Copyright © 2022, The San Diego Union-Tribune | | AdvertisementAdvertisement San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott said she will not pursue prosecutions of people arrested for nonviolent crimes such as failing to disperse or unlawful assembly during protests against police brutality and racial injustice over the past couple of weeks. San Diego police have said they arrested 113 people on charges ranging from unlawful assembly to vandalism, looting and assaulting an officer. Elliott said, however, that people arrested on suspicion of more violent conduct, even if they are also charged with...

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Greg Moran

The San Diego Union-Tribune, the region's leading news source since 1868. Follow our journalists, too: http://j.mp/UTstaff

City Attorney Elliott says protesters arrested for nonviolent offenses won't be prosecuted

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