No Curfew In Riverside County, Except MoVal: Update

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A countywide curfew is not in place Tuesday night, according to Sheriff Chad Bianco, although the city of Moreno Valley ordered one.

Moreno Valley's curfew takes effect from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday. Essential travel for work or medical reasons is allowed, however.

A day of calm in Riverside County follows Monday's protests that, in some areas, extended beyond a 6 p.m. curfew. Despite the thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets, however, few arrests were announced and property damage was kept to a minimum compared to other Southern California regions.

Seven people were arrested and several businesses were vandalized, with one attempt at looting, during Monday's anti-police protest that drew nearly 6,000 people to downtown Riverside, authorities said Tuesday.

The demonstration, which got underway shortly before 4 p.m. Monday at the Main Library, at the corner of Mission Inn Avenue and Orange Street, culminated in a massing of activists at the intersection of Orange and 10th Street, between the Robert Presley Detention Center and Riverside County District Attorney's Office, about an hour later.

The protesters were met by a phalanx of riot gear-clad deputies and Riverside police officers, who lined 10th and prevented the marchers from going farther.

According to Riverside police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback, after the curfew hour of 6 p.m. passed, law enforcement officers began directing the protesters to vacate the area, but some refused.

Five adults and two teenagers were taken into custody for failure to obey a lawful dispersal order, Railsback told City News Service. The teens were released to their parents, and the adults posted bond or were released on their own recognizance later in the night. None were identified.

"As the protest was ending, the groups of those intent on causing disruption, destruction and violence began to single themselves from the peaceful attendees, and it was obvious they were only there to cause problems," the police spokesman said. "They eventually left the area but attempted to cause damage and loot at other areas as they left our city. A caravan of vehicles with these people was reportedly seen getting on the freeway and leaving our city limits."

Railsback said a CVS Pharmacy on Market Street was briefly raided by the suspects, resulting in a theft before patrol officers arrived a couple of minutes later and sent the bandits fleeing in different directions.

According to the lawman, several businesses between Tenth and Mission Inn were targeted by graffiti vandals, and there were a few broken windows.

A dumpster fire was reported near the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, but Riverside firefighters doused the flames within a few minutes.

No injuries were reported.

Like similar demonstrations that burgeoned in cities across the nation, the one in Riverside was spurred by the Memorial Day death of 46-year- old George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and face-down on the street.

The four officers who handled the arrest were all fired. Derek Chauvin, the officer with his knee on Floyd's neck, was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The Riverside protest was replete with derogatory outcries, with some participants repeatedly shouting "(expletive) the police," but at no time in the first two-and-a-half hours of the gathering did there appear to be acts of violence, as has been witnessed in Los Angeles, Dallas, New York City and other locations.

As a precaution, the windows on most of the businesses in the immediate vicinity of the protest zone were boarded up.

A counter-demonstration of sorts took place overhead, where a single- engine airplane towing a banner circled the protesters in three-minute intervals. The banner read: "We Love The Police. USA Thanks You." A red heart symbol was at the tail-end of the message.

In addition to the Riverside protest, about a half-dozen people were arrested Monday night for violating a countywide curfew and other offenses following a demonstration against police brutality in Palm Desert, sheriff's officials confirmed Tuesday.

At its height, the peaceful demonstration comprised nearly 500 protesters, who met near Palm Desert City Hall on Monday afternoon before marching toward the city's upscale shopping district where they were met by sheriff's deputies clad in riot gear.

Despite unverified reports of planned demonstrators from out of the area set to be bused in to cause trouble, no violence was reported.

According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and jail records, most of the arrests occurred more than two hours after the 6 p.m. countywide curfew set in for everyone but essential workers, in response to weekend protests throughout Southern California that occasionally devolved into instances of rioting and looting.

The protest group eventually turned away from venturing into the El Paseo area, and shortly thereafter dissipated, although a few stragglers remained in the streets as the night wore on.

Sheriff's officials said a reputed gang member was caught carrying drugs, body armor and a gun at about 8 p.m. in the area of El Paseo and Portola Avenue. The convicted felon was arrested by law enforcement personnel with the Coachella Valley Violent Crime Gang Task Force who were patrolling the area, along with an 18-year-old from Desert Hot Springs who police said had a hammer hidden in his backpack.

No other non-curfew related arrests were reported.

According to jail records, three other men ages 19-24 were also arrested on suspicion of breaking the countywide curfew. Records indicated they spent the night at the Indio jail before being released on $2,500 bail Tuesday morning, although jail staff could not immediately be reached for confirmation.

The city of Palm Desert on Tuesday lauded organizers over social media for keeping the event peaceful, and also thanked sheriff's deputes for working cooperatively with the demonstrators.

Riverside County officials announced early Monday that a countywide curfew would be in effect from 6 p.m. Monday through 6 a.m. Tuesday, forcing protest organizers in Palm Desert to start an hour earlier than originally planned.

The protest was originally set to take place at Palm Desert's upscale El Paseo shopping district before organizers changed the meeting location to Palm Desert Civic Center Park over fears of rioting and looting.

In Palm Springs earlier Monday, upward of 50 demonstrators gathered on a downtown street corner, where no problems or arrests were reported.

Some Palm Springs police officers handed out free water bottles to participants as the temperature hit the mid-90s, while others watched the scene from a nearby rooftop.

—City News Service contributed to this report.