Despite tensions caused by clashes with police and looting in Scottsdale over the weekend, the June 2 event in Phoenix went off smoothly and peacefully. Crowds obeyed Governor Doug Ducey's emergency order from Sunday and dispersed not long after the 8 p.m. curfew arrived.
Part of Tuesday's event was organized by three churches whose Phoenix congregations are mostly Latino and African-American: All Souls Phoenix, Redemption Church Alhambra, and Roosevelt Community Church. Hundreds of people connected to that demonstration marched from Neighborhood Ministries, 1918 West Van Buren Street, to Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza at the Arizona Capitol complex.
Another large crowd of protesters walked the streets of downtown Phoenix, focusing on Phoenix City Hall and Phoenix police headquarters. There were no reports of vandalism or violence. Police were out in force, with the National Guard as backup. The peaceful George Floyd protests on Saturday night, by contrast, were followed by some protesters who vandalized police cars and broke windows in downtown Phoenix, plus a contingent of lawbreakers who looted and destroyed stores at Scottsdale Fashion Square mall. That led to Ducey's weeklong curfew order, which went into effect on Sunday night.
Demonstrations in Phoenix since the Sunday order have been subdued, with no major resistance to the curfew. While some disturbances were reported in other U.S. cities on Tuesday night, including a military helicopter hovering over protest crowds in Washington, D.C., crackdowns on the non-peaceful protesters seems to have ratcheted down the chaos, for now.
Protests are expected to continue this afternoon in Phoenix, with the "Defund Phoenix Police" rally planned by four groups: Poder in Action, Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro, Mass Liberation Arizona, and Fund for Empowerment.
"We will gather at the city council chambers at 1:30pm to Demand Mayor Gallego and Phoenix City council to defund the police," says a Facebook listing for the event. "Kate Gallego has not been very vocal during this process, it is time she take action and lead the council to defund the Phoenix police department and invest in services and programs that truly make our communities safe and healthy."
The groups want the city to take a portion of the public safety budget, which the Phoenix City Council is slated to vote on at today's formal council meeting, and instead invest in "mental health and trauma services, education and after-school care, adequate housing, healthcare, and employment," according to a form letter the site provided. The groups also want public schools to get rid of school resource officers until they can be held more accountable.
This morning, an online message from a protest supporter stated that the 1:30 p.m. rally at the City Council chambers will "morph into the regularly scheduled" 5 p.m. City Hall protest for the evening. (A high temperature of 110 is expected in Phoenix today.)
A "Peaceful Protest" is also being planned for 5 p.m. tonight at Cesar Chavez Park, 7858 South 35th Avenue in Laveen, to support Black Lives Matter. "Violence will be prohibited!" says an online flyer for the event.
Below: Tweets about the June 2 demonstrations:
This was at a Phoenix protest today. What does Putin have to do with systemic racism that has wreaked unspeakable violence on Black people for the entire history of this country?
— Abolish Prisons & Borders (@cmmcmmcmmcmm) June 3, 2020
I mean fuck Putin but this country is racist AF and we have to deal with that. #DefundThePolice pic.twitter.com/pXgV1jgJbg
I’m so proud of Phoenix. Four nights in a row of peaceful protests.
— Hayli ?? (@HayliNic) June 3, 2020
Also super pleased to learn that since 2016, the Phoenix Police Chief has been Jeri Williams, a black woman.
Can’t help but feel these must be directly correlated.
Today’s Protest Downtown was Beautiful & Powerful to say the least #BlackLivesMatter #GeorgeFloyd
— Zac Phoenix (@phoeniixpapi) June 3, 2020
Peaceful protest in phoenix tonight. Calling for #justicefordion. He was an unarmed black man found sleeping in his car and was shot and killed by DPS last week, who was not wearing a body cam and did not have a dash cam. #BlackLivesMattter #phoenixprotests #NoJusticeNoPeace pic.twitter.com/qvW1v8zPe9
— kathleen (@kathleenaprill) June 3, 2020
