2
0
Police Chief Michel Moore said Sunday that three officers were injured -- none seriously -- during clashes in Hollywood last night with demonstrators marking the first anniversary of the death of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in her Louisville, Kentucky, home.
Nine businesses were vandalized and smoke grenades, as well as other projectiles, were thrown at police, the chief said. Moore initially said 11 people were arrested, but the Los Angeles Police Department later clarified that 10 people in total were arrested related to the violence.
"NO justification/excuse for this violence. 3 officers injured (thankfully none serious). Smoke grenades & other projectiles thrown at our people trying to facilitate a Breonna Taylor Protest. 9 businesses vandalized. 11 arrests," Moore tweeted.
Of the 10 arrests, five people arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, the LAPD said in a statement. One person was arrested for battery on a police officer, while two were arrested for unlawful assembly and two others were arrested for possession of prohibited items.
Another video posted to social media shows two protesters pounding the hood of a Los Angeles Police Department vehicle as it stopped with its siren blaring near Sunset Boulevard and Ivar Avenue. The police car then slowly starts to drive off as the protesters climb onto the hood, then abruptly accelerates as one of the protesters tumbles onto the roadway.
Other videos also show broken storefront windows at several businesses and other vandalism in the area.
Some who were at the Saturday demonstrations said on social media that they were deliberately hit by police squad cars and with batons.
"LAPD just ran over two protesters at the Hollywood Breonna Taylor march," one activist stated beneath a video of the incident.
The LAPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those allegations Sunday.
The department's Hollywood Division later tweeted: "Unacceptable behavior. The group from last night came with the intention to vandalize businesses and attack Officers. We will not tolerate this in Hollywood. 11 arrests made, 5 of those for Assault with a Deadly Weapon on a Police Officer."
Hundreds of activists took to the streets in Los Angeles at numerous demonstrations Saturday night, as part of a nationwide day of action in memory of Taylor. Memorials were held in Hollywood at 11:30 a.m. and near the Hollywood Forever Cemetery at 7:30 p.m. A vigil earlier in the day was held near the Sherman Oaks Galleria.
The demonstrations came one year to the date when Taylor, 26, an emergency medical technician in Louisville, was gunned down by police during a botched narcotics raid after officers forced their way into her apartment in the early morning hours of March 13, 2020.