Beverly Hills’ famed Rodeo Drive flooded by George Floyd-inspired protesters
Sign-carrying protesters chanting “Eat the rich” came to Beverly Hills’ famed shopping street Rodeo Drive today as part of a series of demonstrations over the in-custody death of George Floyd.
The city imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. Saturday to 5:30 a.m. Sunday, Mayor Les Friedman announced.
Signs carried by protesters included, “George Floyd did not deserve to be murdered,” “Justice for George Floyd” and “Black lives matter.”
Protestors were congregated along Rodeo Drive when around 6 p.m. stores including Optometrix and Alexander McQueen had their windows smashed and looters rushed in.
After a while, police pushed the crowd back up Rodeo Drive toward Santa Monica Boulevard.
Many protesters ignored social-distancing recommendations.
Stores on Rodeo, like other nonessential stores throughout the state, have been closed since early March due to stay-at-home orders related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Shortly before 4 p.m., automated telephone calls were made to Beverly Hills residents saying protesters are entering the city and urging residents to stay to home and motorists should avoid the area.
The Beverly Hills City Council held what it described as an “emergency meeting to discuss the current ongoing civil unrest within Los Angeles County” earlier Saturday.
Floyd died Monday after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white Minneapolis Police Department officer, Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee on the 46-year-old man’s neck for several minutes while three other officers looked on.
Video footage of the arrest, in which Floyd is heard saying “I can’t breathe,” spread widely online, and all four officers were fired.
Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on Friday.
from https://ift.tt/36Pcpif Orange County Register https://ift.tt/3eDjW6H
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