Large Crowd At 2nd Danbury Protest Marking George Floyd's Death

DANBURY, CT — Over a thousand people marched peacefully from Rogers Park to Police Headquarters and back on Saturday afternoon, with protesters calling for an end to racial inequality and police brutality.

The protest was attended by Mayor Mark Boughton and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and was the city's second large demonstration in less than a week following the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody.

Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour spoke at Rogers Park, in support of the protesters' cause.

"We do our best to hire the best people, we do our best to train people to treat everyone fair and equitably," Ridenhour said. "We know that that does not always happen throughout this country. I've shed a lot of tears myself over the past week or so over the events in Minnesota that resulted in the senseless death of George Floyd."

Protesters chanted and carried signs one-and-a-half miles down Main Street to the police station. The throng then knelt for 8:46, the span of time come to be popularly associated with Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck. It has been the focus of various vigils, moments of silence, and "taking a knee" since Floyd's death, including at his memorial on June 4.

Organizer Matt Price told the Connecticut Post that the protests are necessary to ensure the public never accepts racial injustice and police brutality.

"Holding the police accountable and holding lawmakers accountable, that's the way we're going to do it," Price said, according to the Connecticut Post.