Kansas City, MO - The third day and night of protest in Kansas City over the death of George Floyd was considerably calmer than the previous night with much less property damage. Though police did use tear gas to disburse crowds and a few cars were burned in the evening.
As of Monday afternoon, police say a total of 151 people had been arrested since Friday when the protests began at the Plaza. Saturday night saw the largest number of arrests, after groups of people became violent, with multiple storefront windows in the shopping district smashed, some looting, and a police car burned.
KCPD released numbers showing 5 people were arrested on Friday; 83 arrested on Saturday; and 63 on Sunday. A department spokesman said about 20 officers were injured in total, most treated for minor injuries caused by flying projectiles, with two needing hospitalization.
Earlier on Sunday, Mayor Quinton Lucas signed an emergency order establishing a 8pm curfew for several districts in the city.
In the afternoon, what appeared to be several thousand people had converged on the park surrounding the JC Nichols fountain on the east edge of the Country Club Plaza.
At one point, Lucas joined the crowd, addressing one section over a megaphone and kneeled with demonstrators as a sign of support.
KMCO Mayor @QuintonLucasKC takes a knee with protestors in #KansasCity https://t.co/ngIQCZqvyG
— 98.1 KMBZ (@KMBZradio) May 31, 2020
Several groups broke off and began marching through city streets, and the KCPD responded by blocking roads to vehicle traffic to allow for the marchers to pass by.
A group of people chanting and marching south on Broadway at 38th in Midtown #KansasCity... https://t.co/YOGr1ZG1qx
— 98.1 KMBZ (@KMBZradio) May 31, 2020
As evening fell on the Plaza, along with the 8pm curfew, the crowd had thinned substantially.
The KCPD tweeted, "The curfew is in effect. We encourage everyone to go home, but we will not take enforcement action unless the peace is disrupted."
5 minutes after curfew. The crowds are moving to the side walk to comply with the curfew. No one seems to be heading home. A leader with a megaphone is instructing protesters to comply and people are listening. @KMBZradio pic.twitter.com/AWrm4eBBLF
— Samuel Stueve III -- (@6ftSamKMBZ) June 1, 2020
And then around midnight... the protests, the demonstrations, those looking for confrontation... it was over.
KCPD officer Jake Becchina commended the community for the mostly peaceful protests on Sunday but said some groups of people “unfortunately chose to ruin it for everyone.”
Becchina also applauded the job of fellow officers and the support given to KCPD from other local agencies.
“We feel like this is wrapped up,” Becchina said. “We don’t have any direct intelligence that we’re going to have something tomorrow at this point.”
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