While Boston Was Mostly Still, Brockton Burned After Protests

BROCKTON, MA — For 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the same amount of time George Floyd had a police officer's knee on his neck last week in Minneapolis — thousands of protesters in Franklin Park Tuesday remained still and silent on the ground. Outside Boston police headquarters, officers took a knee and raised a fist in solidarity with protesters.

Some 25 miles south, another large rally started peacefully. But as night fell in Brockton, a fraction of those protesters clashed with local and state police in a scene reminiscent of how too many protests around the country have ended.

Police used tear gas to disperse a lingering crowd, which had been throwing fireworks and water bottles at officers. Protesters shattered the glass of a Dunkin' store and set the building on fire.

"We need systemic change in our country but change cannot happen through violence," Mayor Robert Sullivan Wednesday morning.

Sullivan said the people causing mayhem Tuesday night do not represent the "City of Champions."

"The people across the street cleaning graffiti, that’s what Brockton is," he said.

The National Guard was called into the city. Sullivan said a state trooper and local police officers suffered minor injuries. There were several arrests.

There also was a heavy police presence in the Boston protest, though a drastically different dynamic. The groups Black Lives Matter Boston and Violence In Boston, which combined to organize the rally, said it must remain peaceful.

"[Expletive] the police, I don't care about them, but I do care about you," Monica Cannon-Grant, founder of Violence in Boston, told protesters. "Act like you have common sense."

Demonstrators had a "die-in," where they took nearly 9 minutes to remember Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. Later in the evening, some groups of police officers knelt at the urging of protesters. Outside of Boston police headquarters, some officers had a fist in the air.

Floyd's death has sparked nationwide unrest and rallies that have switched from peaceful to violent at a moment's notice, such as one in Boston Sunday night.

But Tuesday's protest in Boston remained peaceful, despite some tension. Boston police said at midnight two people were arrested: Cameron Gosselin, 34, of Weymouth, was charged with assault and battery on a police officer; and Elliot Ficklin, 25, of Boston, was charged with breaking and entering a commercial building.

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