State Of Emergency Declared In San Diego Amid Protests

SAN DIEGO, CA — A weekend of protests ended with a declared state of emergency in San Diego. County spokesman Jeff Collins said the order would allow the county to seek federal funds, if needed.

Curfews were in place in Santee, Poway, Lakeside and Spring Valley.

The San Diego Police Department Sunday used tear gas and flash-bang grenades against protesters and issued an unlawful assembly order in the area of Broadway downtown when violence escalated.

The police made a number of arrests, saying they were responding to violence against officers, who were hit with rocks and water bottles.

The mostly peaceful march through downtown San Diego and onto a portion of Interstate 5, where CHP officers stopped traffic on both the northbound and southbound I-5 downtown at about 12:30 p.m.

The protest, demonstrating against the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, wound down at the Hall of Justice, but some protesters were refusing to leave the area.

Just after 1:30 p.m., the crowd thinned out after several hours of marching, chanting and carrying signs in a vigil.

According to police, protesters threw objects at officers, prompting an unlawful assembly order given near Broadway shortly after 3 p.m. On social media, though, some protesters claimed it was the police who escalated the situation downtown.

Outside San Diego Police Headquarters. They have created a perimeter on the four cross streets around the building. This was about 2:15 pm. pic.twitter.com/MaNEKorWMQ
— Jeffery Henderson (@GereJeff) May 31, 2020

Earlier, on the freeway, the crowd kneeled under a bridge as officers tried to stop the protesters from moving south before the Imperial Avenue exit. Officers tried to get the protesters to exit the freeway on Imperial Avenue. Organizers of the protest march tried to lead the crowd off the freeway, but some in the crowd refused to follow.

The protesters eventually exited the freeway and tried to cross the Coronado Bridge, but police stopped all vehicle traffic both ways and blocked protesters from getting on the bridge. The group then turned around and headed back downtown from Barrio Logan.

Protesters were still moving on I-5 at 12:48 p.m.

Earlier Sunday, protesters marched through downtown San Diego, ending up at San Diego Police Department headquarters before the march entered the freeway.

At around 11:30 a.m. near the San Diego Concourse, the crowd stopped at the corner of First Avenue and A Street to hold a moment of silence, as seen on a livestream from a San Diego TV station.

Most protesters wore facial coverings, many carried signs.

They took a knee together, with fists in the air.

At about 11:45 a.m. the crowd turned and began marching down A Street, where a group of San Diego police officers were blocking the street.

Chants of "Hands up, don't shoot!" could be heard from some protesters.

Many of them knelt in front of the police, chanting "George Floyd."

The protest march on downtown streets began at about 10 a.m. with an estimated 100 people. As they marched toward Little Italy, the size of the crowd kept growing.

The march continued west on West Hawthorn Street toward North Harbor Drive along San Diego Bay. They then marched south on North Harbor Drive and ended up at the San Diego Concourse.

The size of the crowd was described by a reporter at the scene as being four city blocks long.

Just after 11:45 a.m., the San Diego Police Department said on Twitter: "We are assisting a group of several hundred community members have their voices heard in downtown SD. We will always facilitate peaceful protests. Traffic in the area may be impacted."

City News Service and Patch staffer Nick Garber contributed to this report.