Protests Continue In San Diego County, National Guard Pulls Out

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — As the California National Guard withdraws from San Diego County, Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina requested Sunday that the San Diego Sheriff's Department investigate an attack on peaceful protesters and deem the incident a hate crime.

The Imperial Beach protest was one of many demonstrations throughout San Diego county on Sunday, which opposed racism, inequality within the justice system and police brutality against people of color.

The incident occurred Sunday afternoon at the Imperial Beach Pier Plaza during a peaceful protest, Dedina said over Twitter.

"We cannot allow the ugly legacy of violent racism and white supremacy to continue in our beach city," the mayor wrote.

No further information was provided regarding the attack and the sheriff's department was unavailable for comment as of Sunday evening.

All the other Black Lives Matter protests throughout the county were reported to be peaceful, with large crowds marching in Chula Vista and Santee city streets Sunday afternoon.

The protest in Chula Vista began at 2 p.m. at Chula Vista Community park and continued on Eastlake Parkway with two motorcycle officers leading the way. The crowds were the largest of the day's protests and remained peaceful throughout.

In Santee, a peaceful protest began at 1 p.m. and organizers said they were wrapping it up at 4:30 p.m. The crowd gathered at the corner of West Hills Parkway and Mast Boulevard, then marched down Mast, then onto the bridge over Santee Recreational Lakes.

Another protest and march began at 3 p.m. at the Cameron Family YMCA at 10123 Riverwalk Drive. Protesters marched to the San Diego Sheriff's Department at 8811 Cuyamaca St. Demonstrators placed flowers within the fence of the sheriff's station and held a moment of silence for the death of George Floyd, who died at the hands of Minneapolis police. The march returned to the YMCA and ended around 5:30 p.m.

A curfew began at 7 p.m. in Santee Sunday, after the city's officials announced the order in response to the weekend's mass gatherings. The curfew will last until 6 a.m. Monday.

Meanwhile, a Black Lives Matter march happened at 3 p.m. at the Poway thrift shops near 12845 Poway Road.

In Cardiff, protesters arrived at the Cardiff river mouth beach parking lot around 5 p.m. and gathered around a painting of George Floyd while demonstrators spoke out against police brutality. At 2 p.m., doctors, nurses and health care workers rallied at the Cardiff Kook.

In Pacific Beach, a gathering occurred at 5 p.m. in the Trader Joe's parking lot on Garnet Avenue and Ingraham Street. Nearly 100 protesters marched east on Garnet toward the coast, where the protest ended around 6 p.m.

In La Jolla, a gathering celebrated black culture at 2 p.m. in Kellogg Park.

The protests come as more than 7,000 California National Guard troops pull out of the county. The troops had arrived Wednesday evening, following the violence of the previous weekend.

#BLM in #Santee pic.twitter.com/nG8oFeG3Ib
— Karolyn Smith (@KSmithSpeaking) June 7, 2020

—City News Service