KC police say at least 4 arrests, no spray or gas used at protest as sun sets Tuesday

Update: More information became available later Tuesday about the ongoing protests in Kansas City. That story is posted here.

Kansas City police say at least four people have been arrested during Tuesday’s protests.

Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a Kansas City police spokesman, said four or five arrests were made after some people remained in the road.

Around 8 p.m. Tuesday, police sent a line of officers out two more times as protesters entered the street at the Mill Creek Park. Becchina stated arrests have been made only after ample warning. Some complied, others did not, Becchina said.

Becchina said police are only lining up at the park once protesters enter the street. They will be unbothered so long as they stay within the park, he said.

“A lot of these measures that we take are preventative,” Becchina said. “We’re experimenting tonight. We’ve done things a little bit differently.”

He said people wandering around in the street could devolve into an unsafe situation. The streets surrounding the park and the Plaza area are closed.

As some protesters marched earlier in the evening on Main Street, Becchina said police would like them to be on the sidewalk but were letting them stay on the road there.

Becchina described the situation as a “give and take.”

While police permitted the march, he said, protesters would not be allowed to enter the highway.

No pepper spray or tear gas has been reported to be in use Tuesday as of 8:30 p.m.

Hundreds gathered at the Country Club Plaza to protest police brutality and call for changes within law enforcement. The protest continued into the evening hours.

This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 8:36 PM.