Fresno protest stays loud and peaceful for most of the night. Then, there were arrests
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What started as a peaceful protest Saturday night in Fresno ended in three arrests just before the gathering dispersed around midnight.
Fresno police detained three young men for vandalism after multiple windows were smashed at a Les Schwab Tire Center near the intersection of Blackstone and Ashlan avenues.
The arrests marred what had been a vocal but non-violent protest for most of the night as hundreds marched for miles around Fresno in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
Among the protesters’ repeated chants:
“What’s his name? George Floyd!”
“I can’t breathe.”
“No justice. No peace. Prosecute the police.”
And as the energy from the protesters grew stronger, the gathering kept marching.
It started downtown at Chukchansi Park then moved to the Tower District, prompting Fresno police to block off parts of Blackstone and McKinley avenues to keep the protesters safe from traffic.
“They’ve been mistreating the brown and black people too long — and we’re tired of it,” protester Joban Coleman said. “Instead of tearing up Fresno, we’re peacefully marching.”
The protest initially was supposed to end back in downtown in front of the Fresno police headquarters.
There, some officers in riot gear stood behind iron gates and watched on guard.
Some protesters, however, decided to keep marching and chanted all the way to Manchester Mall.
Their efforts to keep marching to Fashion Fair mall were disrupted after the three protesters were arrested.
With looting occurring in other cities across the country from gatherings that started at protests, Fresno police closely monitored Saturday’s protest.
Especially as protesters marched toward retail businesses.
But aside from the smashed windows and arrests, the protest remained peaceful.
Most just wanted to make sure their message was heard loud and clear around Fresno:
That black lives do matter.
That police brutality and injustice cannot continue.
And that African Americans aren’t alone in that fight for justice — but joined by many others of different races and ethnicities.
“I am not black but I see you,” a sign that was held by a white woman read. “I’m not black but I hear you.
“I am not black but I will fight for you!”
This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 10:50 PM.