Demonstrations continued in the Bay Area this weekend as part of nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd.
In San Francisco, dozens of protesters marched Saturday afternoon through the city before getting into a tense standoff with police, blocking a freeway offramp.
Oakland city officials in a media briefing urged people to stay home in hopes of preventing a repeat of the vandalism that broke out late Friday during protests.
The mostly peaceful marches on Friday in Oakland and San Jose were marred by vandalism, a shooting and clashes that injured several officers.
Tear gas, flashbang grenades and rubber bullets were fired into a crowd that grew to about 1,000 protesters in downtown San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley. Demonstrators had temporarily shut down a five-lane section of Highway 101, a major highway.
A San Jose officer was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, said Officer Gina Tepoorten, a department spokeswoman. Police officers’ union spokesman Dustin DeRollo said the officer was punched in the head by protesters and knocked unconscious, while other media reports said the officer was struck by a thrown object.
In Oakland, preliminary information released by the Oakland Police Department shows that a total of 60 suspected looters were detained for investigation. In addition, the department had a total of 18 arrests and six injuries, one citation and one tow.
City Major Libby Schaaf took to Twitter Saturday and said that while the "rage, anger and grief" amid the killing of George Floyd is justifiable, the "rage crossed the line."
Multiple businesses were damaged and fires were set across the city. "This is not who we are," Schaaf said.
The death of the 46-year-old Floyd, who was recorded on video pleading for air as a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, has shocked the country, including police officers who are usually inclined to withhold comment.
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Police chiefs and police unions throughout the state have called it unjustifiable and excessive force.
