Looting, Vandalism And Freeway Takeover In Third Day Of Sacramento George Floyd Protests

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A third day of demonstration unfolded in Sacramento on Sunday as crowds gathered in the downtown area to protest the death of George Floyd, who died while in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday.

The Sacramento Police Department said officers were responding at around 8:30 p.m. to reports of vandalism near Cesar Chavez Park, where hundreds of protesters gathered after taking over a porting of Interstate 5 earlier in the evening.

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At around 9 p.m., demonstrators again turned up at the Capitol chanting things like "No Justice, No Peace."

Sacramento police also reported a fire Sunday night at a 7-Eleven near 8th and J streets.

Crowds first gathered at Cesar Chavez Park at 2 p.m. to engage in a George Floyd solidarity action event.

In an event page on Facebook, the Anti Police-Terror Project said:

Bring things to leave on an altar. Pictures of your loved ones who have passed. Pictures of those slain by police. Candles, flowers, herbs, stones or earth. Bring your music, art and poems. Share your stories from theses nights of uprising. We as a people know how to both destroy and build.

Please bring things that can be left behind.

Following the time spent at Cesar Chavez Park, demonstrators made their way to the Capitol to continue their protest. In total, there was approximately 1,000 protesters by the time the crowds reached the Capitol.

Just after 6:30 p.m., protesters made it onto Interstate 5 near the downtown area. Police soon made it onto the freeway and threw countless flash grenades to attempt to disperse the crowd. At least two protesters were detained on the freeway by California Highway Patrol officers.

Sunday's events have remained largely peaceful with chants of "I can't breathe," "Hands up, don't shoot," and "Black Lives Matter."

"There's decisions to be made on these protests minute to minute depending on what these protesters do or what we anticipate we can prevent," Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Kahn said. "And we will do that again tonight."

Following Saturday's events, the Sacramento City Council held an emergency closed meeting at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday. Officials determined there would be no curfew in the city on Sunday.

On Saturday, over a dozen people were arrested, several stores were looted and numerous buildings and statues were covered in graffiti. A teenager was rushed to the hospital bloodied after witnesses said he was hit in the face with a rubber bullet.

On Friday, nine officers were hurt and two people were arrested during Sacramento's first night of protests in Oak Park.