Phoenix 8 Arrested During Demonstrations Outside Police Headquarters

Press release from the City of Phoenix:

August 10, 2020

The Phoenix Police Department's role during the ongoing demonstrations is to ensure the safety of the community. Since the end of May, the Phoenix Police Department has been present at daily demonstration. The majority of the demonstrators have been peaceful and respectful and have been able to successfully exercise their first amendment rights. On a few occasions, a small portion of the groups have engaged in criminal activity, placing other demonstrators and officers in danger. This was the case Sunday evening, August 9, 2020.

At around 7:00 p.m., a group of demonstrators began marching from Caesar Chavez Plaza westbound on Jefferson, taking over the street. The group continued to march in the street and obstructed the intersection of 7th Avenue and Jefferson. They then marched north on 7th Avenue, still obstructing the street. When they arrived at 7th Avenue and Washington, they briefly blocked intersection. The crowd then marched eastbound on Washington to the front of Phoenix Police Headquarters.

Once at Phoenix Police Headquarters, members of the crowd began to pull down the safety fencing which had been in place for several months, to protect the building from damage. The fence was put in place as a barrier, preventing crowds from accessing the sidewalk in front of the building. Once the fence was pulled down, the crowd advanced into the area which had previously been protected and not accessible. As the crown encroached on the entry to police headquarters, officers created a line holding shields to protect the building from unauthorized access.

When the line was formed, officers began to walk toward the crowd to move them out of the protected area. At this time, some demonstrators began retrieving items from backpacks on the ground across the street, and began throwing items at officers, and assaulting officers. When officers attempted to arrest the violators, other members of the crowd attempted to hinder the officers from making the arrests. During the aggravated assaults on the officers, less lethal munitions were deployed including pepper balls and spray, one stun bag, and a loud noise device known as bore thunder

As a result of the criminal activity, an Unlawful Assembly was declared and broadcast to the crowd. Approximately ten minutes after the declaration, the crowd began to disperse to the east. When the crowd got to City Hall, they took several construction barriers and moved them to block the roadway. The movement of the barricades into the roadway blocked access for patrol cars. Officers had to move the barricades out of the roadway so they could get through.

8 individuals were arrested and booked into the Maricopa County Jail are charges including aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, riot, unlawful assembly, criminal trespassing and/or resisting arrest. At least one of the individuals arrested has been arrested 3 other times related to criminal activity at demostrations.

This press release was produced by the City of Phoenix. The views expressed here are the author’s own.