‘When will we start to matter?’: George Floyd protests continue Monday in Kansas City
About half a dozen people have been arrested during a fourth day of protests at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, a police spokesman said.
Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a Kansas City Police Department spokesman, said some were detained as the demonstration picked up late Monday afternoon. Police have concerns, he said, about attempts to incite the crowd and others walking in the street. He said some who have been detained were found with rocks or urine-soaked objects.
Police want to see the demonstration remain peaceful, Becchina said, but added police would declare an unlawful assembly if there are injuries or damage to property
A crowd of protesters numbering in the dozens briefly scattered as pepper spray was deployed earlier in the afternoon. Becchina said the pepper spray was used after items were thrown at officers.
Nineteen-year-old Jayla Johnson, of Kansas City, said right before police sprayed into the crowd with pepper spray, she had been questioning police about three black men who have been shot and killed by Kansas City police officers: Ryan Stokes, Cameron Lamb and Donnie Sanders, an unarmed man shot by police in March.
“They killed them and nobody is talking about it,” Johnson said.
“Why are we a shooting target for them?” Johnson asked. “Our lives won’t matter until black lives matter. It is what it is. Brown lives matter just as well . . . When will we start to matter?”
A short time earlier, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas met with a group of protesters at Mill Creek Park. The mayor had been having conversations with protesters about making changes within the police department.
As Lucas met with protesters, police arrested a man nearby and the crowd grew angry, with some protesters began yelling that the man was being restrained by officers.
The man was arrested after allegedly pushing and shoving, creating an unsafe situation, Becchina said later.
As the situation unfolded, protesters told Lucas they want to see more training, de-escalation and body cameras for police.
Lucas told the crowd he agreed.
“This is where we’re going to build it bit by bit to try to make it better,” Lucas said, indicating he understands the citizens’ frustrations. “Know that we and the city are trying to make a change,” he continued.
At one point, Lucas, along with Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith and other police officers took a knee and held a moment of silence for a black man, George Floyd, who died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes.
The mayor’s discussion with protesters came minutes after he and Smith spoke at a joint news conference about the weekend’s protests at the Plaza. Crowds of people descended on the Plaza throughout the weekend to protest police brutality. The demonstrations were part of a series across the country sparked by the killing of Floyd during his arrest on Memorial Day in Minneapolis.
At the news conference Monday, Smith defended the actions of the police department during the protests. Police arrested more than 150 people over the weekend and used tear gas to try to disperse crowds.
Smith said a crowd of protesters Sunday was told the gathering had become “an unlawful assembly” before tear gas was deployed, shortly after an 8 p.m. curfew went into effect for the Plaza and other areas.
During a joint news conference Monday, Lucas said there would be no curfew Monday night.
Protesters could be heard chanting as officials took questions from reporters Monday afternoon. During their comments, Smith and Lucas also addressed questions about a video that has circulated on social media showing a protester pepper sprayed and detained by police after shouting criticism at them.
Smith said he had not seen the video. Lucas said he has seen the video, and will review such situations.
“I believe in accountability,” Lucas said. But he added that he would not make a judgment based on a Twitter video alone.
Monday’s protests began around 2 p.m. when about 30 people joined together at Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard and Main Street. Some chanted “White silence is compliance,” while passing drivers honked. The protests continued into the evening hours, growing to include hundreds of people.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 7:48 PM.
