Protester arrested after allegedly tormenting people in SUV
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - One man was arrested after police broke up a group of 20 to 25 protesters marching Friday night.
Shortly after 9:30 p.m. Friday, two Walnut Creek police officers saw the protesters marching on North Broadway near Lincoln Avenue, near the city's main library downtown. An SUV headed north on Broadway was stopped by some of the protesters, who then surrounded it. Police said two or three protesters tried to open the front driver-side door of the SUV, while others from the group yelled at the occupants and kicked the car. Officers immediately activated the lights and sirens on their patrol cars, but the crowd continued kicking the SUV and trying to open the driver's door.
Some of the protesters then walked toward police, officers said, while others remained at the SUV. Officers then shot a 40mm "foam baton" round at a protester attacking the SUV; he was struck in the torso, police said.
Michael Chapman, whom police identified as the protester struck by the foam baton, was later arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and of obstructing an officer. According to Walnut Creek police, officers recognized Chapman as an "agitator and counter-protester" at a rally earlier Friday supporting President Donald Trump. At that rally, police said, they saw Chapman exposing a ballistic vest he was wearing under his jacket.
Chapman was taken to the County Jail in Martinez.
The driver and passenger in the SUV were scared but unhurt, police said.
The investigation into this incident remains active. Detectives are working to identify the other protesters who attempted to open the SUV's car door and who prevented it from immediately driving away, police said.
This happened in a city where police have been under fire for overreacting to some protests following May's killing by Minneapolis police of George Floyd.
In a news release describing Friday's incident, acting police Chief Jay Hill said, "The Walnut Creek Police Department is committed to ensuring individuals can exercise their First Amendment rights to protest peacefully, but we will not stand by and allow unlawful activity that puts public safety at risk."
https://www.ktvu.com/news/protester-arr ... ple-in-suvPolice fire sponge grenades after they say weekend protest in Walnut Creek turns unruly
Protesters surrounded SUV and tried to pull open driver’s door, police said; one arrested
WALNUT CREEK — A protest with about 20-25 people turned unruly late Friday night and resulted in officers using sponge grenades to disperse a group that had surrounded an SUV, police said.
Police arrested one man in the aftermath and said nobody was hurt. The man they arrested was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of false imprisonment and obstructing an officer, police said.
In a statement, Walnut Creek interim Police Chief Jay Hill said the officers fired two 40-millimeter foam batons at protesters who had gathered around the SUV that was traveling north on N. Broadway. He said officers feared for their lives and that of the people in the SUV.
The foam batons also are are called sponge grenades.
The group surrounded the SUV just after 9:35 p.m. after breaking away from a group of protesters that were marching on N. Broadway in the area of Lincoln Avenue, Hill said. Officers saw the group around the SUV, which stopped in the roadway, and observed two or three people trying to pull open the driver’s side door, Hill said.
They activated their lights and sirens and tried to make the protesters disperse, only to watch protesters kick the SUV and continue their efforts to pull open the driver’s door, Hill said.
Part of that group began to move toward the officers as the others remained near the SUV, and that sparked the use of the sponge grenades, Hill said. He added that officers with a bullhorn repeatedly ordered the protesters to disperse to no avail.
Officers fired one of the foam rounds at the protester they arrested, hitting him in the upper torso, Hill said. They fired the second round at the ground, and it scattered the group still surrounding the SUV, he said.
The people in the SUV were scared but not injured, according to Hill.Hill also said officers recognized the man they arrested as an agitator and counter-protester at a rally for President Trump earlier Friday and that he showed up to earlier protests wearing a bullet proof vest.
Nobody else was arrested, but Hill said police are working to identify the protesters who tried to pull open the SUV door and who refused to let it move.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/10/26 ... ns-unruly/