On Friday afternoon, people gathered at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta to peacefully protest recent deaths of African Americans Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The protests turned from peaceful to tense close to 6 p.m., when protesters threw water bottles and glass at police officers. APD SWAT arrived on the scene around 6:25 p.m.
»RELATED: Atlanta responds to George Floyd killing: Protest turns chaotic downtown
Protesters were ordered to get out of the street or face arrest about 10 minutes later, at 6:35 p.m., according to reports, however, Atlanta Police Department Chief Erika Shields told reporters that protesters could stand in the street and that there was no curfew in place.
The march started from Centennial and proceeded to the Georgia State Capitol building, where a moment of silence was observed.
Arbery was reportedly shot and killed by a white father and son who armed themselves and allegedly gave chase after seeing the 25-year-old black man running in their Brunswick subdivision in February.
Taylor was reportedly shot to death by plainclothes Louisville Metro Police Department officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove on March 13 in her own home. The officers were executing a “no-knock” search warrant as they were investigating men suspected of selling drugs, but the man was more than 10 miles from Taylor’s apartment.
Floyd died in police custody on Memorial Day after cellphone video appeared to capture Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on his neck during his arrest as he said that he couldn’t breathe.
Social distancing guidelines are being observed during the march as concerns around the coronavirus continue. People were seen wearing masks and were asked to have an ID and emergency contact on them. Participants have also been encouraged by organizers to remain peaceful and follow guidelines such as not inciting violence, using cellphones to record everything, obeying traffic laws, not destroying property and not engaging with or running from police.
Credit: Raisa Habersham
Credit: Raisa Habersham
Atlantans and others responded to the march and shared their experiences on social media:
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