San Ramon Businesses Board Up Ahead Of Wednesday Protest

SAN RAMON, CA — A protest is planned at 5 p.m. Wednesday in San Ramon, police said.

Police will close eastbound Bollinger Canyon Road from San Ramon Valley Boulevard to Alcosta Boulevard at 4:30 p.m. Roads will reopen after the demonstration, police said. Drivers are advised to expect delays.

Businesses closed and boarded up ahead of the event. Entrances at City Center Bishop Ranch were barricaded, glass walls were covered in plywood and a security guard stood watch. At the nearby Target, a line of shopping carts blocked off access to the boarded-up doors.

A flyer widely circulating online for a San Ramon protest at that same time said demonstrators will protest police brutality. Protesters plan to meet at Valley View Park and march to city hall, according to the flyer.

Organizers said protesters should remain peaceful and violence and destruction are not condoned. Protesters are asked to bring face coverings and be wary of COVID-19 precautions.

San Ramon police are "committed to the safety and protection of our community," the department said. "We are working with the event organizer and have taken several measures to keep this demonstration peaceful."

The demonstrations in San Ramon and across the nation come in the wake of George Floyd's death. 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.

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