OC Protests: Hundreds Gather, 'Several' Arrests Reported

ORANGE COUNTY, CA —On a day with high tensions, protests and looting reigning, a voice of reason Sunday came from former police officer, now Orange County's district attorney, Todd Spitzer.

The overwhelming majority of the people who have taken to the streets since the Memorial Day death of Floyd in Minneapolis "are doing it peacefully and with respect," according to Spitzer.

The right to peacefully protest is sacred in the United States.

"When those protest cross the line into criminality, it will not be tolerated in Orange County," he said. "As a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, I watched the streets of Los Angeles burn during the 1992 riots."

While protests serve to share a message, looting and vandalism are something else, entirely.

"Looting and rioting is not about justice," Spitzer says. "It is about opportunists who are corrupting a cause to steal, robbery crews who pile out of cars with lookouts timing their looting sprees in order to evade police."

Sunday was a turbulent day of demonstrations against police violence in Orange County Saturday resulted in multiple arrests and a citywide curfew in Santa Ana after overnight looting.

Demonstrators gathered by the hundreds to protest the killing of George Floyd, who was killed in Minneapolis Monday after a police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes while Floyd, 46, begged for air.

Protests have grown violent in cities across the U.S., including in Los Angeles, where widespread looting prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency over the unrest. The Nation Guard has been activated in Southern California to quell the violence.

Huntington Beach event grows tense

"Basically, demonstrators started arguing with each other," Huntington Beach police spokeswoman Angela Bennett said. ``We had no fights yet. The demonstration started to block traffic on Pacific Coast Highway and so we've asked them to disperse,"

The demonstration started about 11:30 a.m. and was declared an unlawful assembly at 1 p.m., Bennett said. "We're asking people to disperse," she said. "We have to get our people in place and follow through on the order."

Business operators along Main Street were boarding up windows. Among them was the Wet Dog Tavern, which had "Local minority owned business" scrawled on plywood placed in front of it, the Orange County Register reported.

Fullerton rally results in arrests

In Fullerton, police on Sunday announced charges against two people following a 400-person strong rally in Fullerton over the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The demonstration began at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Fullerton Transportation Center at Harbor Boulevard and Walnut Avenue, according to Fullerton police Sgt. Eric Bridges.

According to social reports from those present, crowds gathered in the street bearing signs reading "Who Polices The Police?" and "Black Lives Matter." Twitter user Carrie Kelly shared that the crowd gathered in the street and chanted "We can't breathe!"

Earlier today, downtown Fullerton images, in front of Police station at Commonwealth/Highland ... crowd in street chanting 'We can't breath'.
Officer on loudspeaker declares UNLAWFUL assembly and asked them to disperse. #orangecounty, California#GeorgeFloydprotest pic.twitter.com/jm2KXRukHX
— Carrie Kelly (@CarrieHKelly) May 31, 2020

The protesters then marched to the Fullerton Police Department at 237 West Commonwealth Ave., where they blocked Highland Avenue until an unlawful assembly was declared.

That's where one protester was seen vandalizing a passing vehicle's windshield, Fullerton Police Chief Bob Dunn said.

"Many have seen the disturbing video of the officers involved in the death of Mr. Floyd," he said. "His death was wrong, and many of my colleagues have similarly condemned that action. The Fullerton Police Department values our relationship with the community, which has been built upon public trust, community responsiveness, and mutual respect."

Dunn affirmed the constitutional right for people to protest in the community, but blamed activists with ill intentions for turning a lawful protest into a criminal one.

The North Orange County SWAT team was called in and two people were arrested, Bridges said.

About 50 protesters returned to the transportation center, where the protest ended about 7 p.m., Bridges said.

The protest was peaceful and no injuries were reported, he said.

Anaheim resident Donald Gibson, 41, was charged with vandalism and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was being held at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail, police said.

Buena Park resident Valerie Paniagua, 24, was charged with failure to disperse. Police have accused her of laying down in the middle of the road.

She was booked and released on a citation at the Fullerton Police Department Temporary Holding Facility.

Santa Ana imposes curfew

In Santa Ana, Mayor Miguel Pulido announced a citywide curfew Sunday after a night of violence and looting amid protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Monday.

The curfew went into effect at 10 p.m. Sunday until 5:30 a.m. Monday.

About 250 to 300 people in Santa Ana protested overnight, with some throwing fireworks at police officers, authorities said.

The first of two protests involving 150 to 200 people began at 8 p.m. at McFadden Avenue and Bristol Street, said Santa Ana Police Corporal Anthony Bertagna.

Some protesters threw fireworks at officers and set "a couple of small fires," Bertagna said, while looters broke into multiple stores including a Smart & Final, Auto Zone and Food 4 Less.

Santa Ana officers, aided by Orange County sheriff's deputies and officers from departments around the county, were able to divide the crowd into smaller, more manageable groups, he said.

A second group of about 100 people went to Santa Ana Police Headquarters but were met by officers and turned away.

"Several arrests" were made, Bertagna said.

A sheriff's deputy was injured and taken to a hospital for treatment, Bertagna said.

Officials said some community members were helping with the cleanup effort Sunday morning.

"After a night of civil unrest and senseless property damage, it is our very own Santa Ana community that has come out early this morning to help with the clean up efforts, along with @CityofSantaAna crews #SantaAnaSTRONG," the police tweeted at 11:26 a.m.

Patch staffer Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.