After Protests, Molotov Cocktail Hits New Haven Police Substation

NEW HAVEN, CT — New Haven police are looking for the person who threw a Molotov cocktail at a police substation in Newhallville early Monday morning.

The 2 a.m. attempt to damage the substation left visible scorch marks on the side the structure, according to a photo posted by the New Haven Register. The substation is at 596 Winchester Ave. The attempted arson followed a weekend of largely peaceful protests as an estimated 1,000 demonstrators gathered Sunday at the New Haven City Hall before they marched to block a stretch of highway at I-95 South.

Later that evening, protesters found themselves in a standoff with officers at the headquarters of the New Haven Police Department. Reports from the protest describe some in the crowd throwing bottles, while police responded with Mace after some protesters attempted to enter the building.

Cops beating and macing people who tried to lawfully enter the #newhaven police station to speak with @MayorElicker pic.twitter.com/T63xIDZ7mB
— pork is haram (@juicespringstn) May 31, 2020

Also Sunday evening, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker addressed the protests, which exploded across dozens of cities last week in the wake of video footage showing George Floyd losing consciousness beneath the knee of now-fired former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who has since been fired and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

"What happened to George Floyd and what has happened to many others must stop," Elicker said in the statement. "I urge New Haven residents with all my heart to be open to these conversations and to protest but do it peacefully. We will get through this very challenging time."

In a Monday morning Facebook post, the New Haven police said its officers had made no arrests during the previous night's demonstrations.

Meanwhile, in Waterbury on Sunday, police arrested arrested 28 protesters.