A Jeep plowed through a Black Lives Matter march along a highway near Denver Saturday night moments before a protester shot a gun and wounded at least two other demonstrators, police said.
One of the protesters who was shot during the mayhem on Interstate 225 in Aurora was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
The other demonstrator who was wounded showed up at the hospital with a graze wound, the Aurora Police Department tweeted that evening.
A woman who also appeared to dodge the Jeep, fell 20 feet off the highway as she escaped to safety, witnesses said.
A Jeep plowed through a Black Lives Matter march along a highway near Denver Saturday night moments before a protester shot a gun and wounded at least two other demonstrators, police said. A protester tosses a bag at the vehicle as it plowed through the crowd
One of the protesters who was shot during the mayhem on Interstate 225 in Aurora was taken to a hospital in stable condition. Protesters are seen along the highway where the jeep had plowed through the crowd
Protesters and medical personnel are pictured attending to a wounded demonstrator
A woman who also appeared to dodge the Jeep, fell 20 feet off the highway as she escaped to safety, witnesses said
A search is now on for the shooter, whom witnesses believed opened fire to stop the Jeep.
A driver and passenger from the Jeep were detained after police later located and towed away the vehicle. Neither has been identified.
Protesters, after the highway protest in Aurora ended in mayhem Saturday night, also broke windows at the local the courthouse, where a fire was started in an office, police said.
An unlawful assembly was declared and police ordered protesters to leave the area, authorities said.
Tensions have been heightened at recent protests against racial injustice since federal officials were sent to quell demonstrations in Portland, Oregon. Police also declared a riot in Seattle on Saturday.
Protests sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man in Minnesota who died after a white officer held him to the ground with a knee to his neck, have also highlighted other cases of fatal police violence.
Saturday night's march on I225 was held to bring attention to the death of Elijah McClain, a black man who was stopped by police while walking down an Aurora street in August 2019 after a 911 caller reported him as suspicious.
Police placed him in a chokehold, and paramedics administered 500 milligrams of ketamine, a sedative, to calm him down. He went into cardiac arrest and was later declared brain dead and taken off life support.
Saturday night's march on I225 was held to bring attention to the death of Elijah McClain, a black man who was stopped by police while walking down an Aurora street in August 2019 after a 911 caller reported him as suspicious
One of the officers involved in McClain's arrest last August was fired earlier this month after receiving photos of three officers mocking and re-enacting the killing, outside the 23-year-old's memorial.
The Aurora Police Department on July 3 announced Jason Rosenblatt was fired, along with officers Erica Marrero and Kyle Dittrich for their involvement in the October 2019 incident.
A fourth officer, Jaron Jones, who also appeared in the images, resigned days ahead of a pre-disciplinary hearing.
Rosenblatt, who was one of three Aurora cops involved in McClain's fatal arrest, also appeared in the pictures he received, but was terminated after receiving them in a text message and responding: 'HaHa'.
Jason Rosenblatt, who was involved in McClain's fatal arrest last August, was fired on July 3 for receiving a photo re-enacting McClain's killing
A memorial to McClain was set up near the I225 protest Black Lives Matter protest Saturday
Aurora Interim Chief Vanessa Wilson publicly released the photos for the first time, which showed Jones pretending to put Dittrich in a chokehold while Marrero looks on and laughs.
All three officers were on duty and in uniform at the time.
They were taken two months after McClain, 23, a massage therapist who loved animals and who taught himself to play the guitar and the violin, died after cops held him in a chokehold on August 24.
'We're ashamed, we're sickened and we're angry,' Chief Wilson said in a press conference on July 3. 'While the allegations of this internal affairs case are not criminal, it is a crime against humanity and decency.'
'It shows a lack of morals, values and integrity, and judgment. I can no longer trust to allow them to wear this badge,' she added.
No comments:
Post a Comment