Video: Worcester Officers Clash With Police Brutality Protesters

Woodrow Adams Jr., one of the speakers at the peaceful rally, said that Worcester was different from cities like Boston and Minneapolis, where some people have destroyed and stolen from businesses during protests.

"We're not going to go out here and tear up our own city," Adams told the crowd.

The protest, co-organized by City Councilor Khrystian King, began around 6 p.m. behind City Hall. As many as 1,000 people gathered for speeches — including Mayor Joseph Petty and City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. — and then marched to the courthouse along Main Street. The event concluded around 9 p.m. without incident, although a few dozen demonstrators stayed behind at the Worcester Common.

READ: 'Amplify Black Voices' Is Rallying Cry At Worcester Protest

Around 10 p.m., a group of demonstrators began marching south along Portland Street, continuing on to Main Street. Worcester police said the crowd was between 50 and 70 people.

Some stopped at intersections to lie down, a reference to the killing of George Floyd. But when protesters reached the Dunkin' near Hammond Street, a line of police dressed in riot gear approached the group, according to Sam Bishop, a journalist who was documenting the protest.

One demonstrator kneeled down in front of police and asked them to join the group in solidarity.

"The protester demanded all of them kneel or at least give an acknowledgment that the officers didn't support the murder of George Floyd, or said they understood that black lives matter," Bishop said. "The riot squad responded by pushing the crowd back and starting to make arrests."

In one video of the exchange, several officers in riot gear do kneel down. Behind them, a loudspeaker can be heard telling the demonstrators they are gathered illegally.

Worcester police said the riot police responded when one officer in an SUV was surrounded by protesters — a part of that exchange can be seen in the third video below.

In one video shared by Bishop, taken by the mother of a protester, Worcester police order the crowd to "move back." A woman standing near the line of police begins yelling back when the officers tell the crowd to "go home." One officer then reaches out to push the woman, and suddenly a group of officers rushes in and pull her to the ground.

Police later fired tear gas and other projectiles, Bishop said, which worked to disperse the crowd. The noise attracted nearby residents to the area, and the crowd grew again. At one point, demonstrators began throwing objects back at police. Bishop said that one demonstrator hit a police car with a rock, breaking the window. Demonstrators were also lighting off fireworks, and at least one hit the row of riot police, Bishop said.

Worcester police described the scene more vividly, saying that at least one officer was hit in the head with an object, and another one was burned.

"Members of the crowd began throwing objects at the police," a department press release said. "One officer was struck in the head with a piece of concrete, and others were struck with rocks. Other individuals starting shooting fireworks and Roman candles at the officers. An officer was struck in the chest by fireworks, which burned his uniform and skin."

A majority of the 19 people arrested were charged with disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct.

Several businesses along Main Street were also damaged. One person was arrested at an EbLens store after the business was broken into, according to a MassLive report.

Bishop shared several videos with Patch showing people being released from lockup at police headquarters on Tuesday morning. One man with a cut on his face says that he was arrested after being tackled and dragged across the ground by police.

"They were, like, beating on me," the man says in the video.

Another video shared by Bishop showed a young man whose hand was cut open and bleeding, apparently after getting hit by a projectile.

At least four of the people arrested Monday were Clark University students. The school said Tuesday that the Worcester police response to the late-night protest was "unacceptable." The school also said it would stop hiring off duty Worcester officers as security.

"We do not at this time know the full circumstances or details of these events," a joint statement from Clark President David Angel and President-elect David Fithian said. "What we do know is that the police actions we have witnessed are unacceptable and a source of dismay to all within our community. We share the anger and concern over these actions."

The other people arrested include:

• Courtney Harriott, 19, of Worcester — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Sean Craig, 22, of Millbury — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Ashley Briddon, 22, of Millbury — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Taylor Atkinson, 22, of Fitchburg — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Lasunia Bell, 19, of Worcester — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Emerson Rivas, 23, of Worcester — trespass, disorderly conduct, and interfering with an officer
• Roberto Retana, 24, of Clinton — trespass, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and failure to dispense during a riot
• Richard Cummings, 44, of Worcester — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Sarah Drapeau, 20, of Worcester — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Olyvia Crum, 23, of Worcester — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Jay Verchin, 23, of Worcester — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Antoine Hernandez, 22, of Dorchester — disorderly conduct, receiving stolen property
• Antonio Barrera, 19, of Oxford — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Lyndsay Demanbey, 23, of Worcester — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Veronica Pasquantonio, 28, of Westport — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Javier Amarat, 24, of Worcester — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Max Marcotte, 24, of Worcester — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace
• Christopher Euga, 28, of Westport — disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace