Community Corner
Pleasanton Protest Planned Friday
Police said they have met with organizers and intend to ensure the event is peaceful and safe.
PLEASANTON, CA — Protesters calling for racial justice in the wake of George Floyd's death plan to gather at 2 p.m. Friday at Amador Valley Community Park.
The protest will proceed northbound on Santa Rita Road, Pleasanton police said.
Officers have met with protesters and "are working to ensure it is a safe, peaceful and successful event," police said in a Facebook post.
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Organizers have said they do not condone violence, looting or destruction.
Some Pleasanton businesses have boarded up windows amid widespread looting in California, though there have been no such incidents in the Tri-Valley.
Find out what's happening in Pleasantonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Pleasanton officials said "the killing of George Floyd is reprehensible" in a letter to the public signed by the mayor, city council, city manager, police chief and police union.
"We encourage constructive dialogue and genuine engagement through our interactions with one another to decide together how we — as a community — make our city a better place," they wrote. "Let us work together to find meaningful ways to honor the life of George Floyd, and let that collective work reflect the community we strive to be."
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white man, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Chauvin pinned Floyd down after arresting him following a call reporting his suspected use of a counterfeit bill at a store. Floyd said he could not breathe during the encounter and had no pulse when he was taken into an ambulance.
All four officers at the scene were fired. On Wednesday Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder and the other three officers on scene — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.
Pleasanton police will post updates about the protest as they become available.
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