(WWJ) The city of Detroit is dismissing tickets against most protesters who violated curfew during a weekend of Black Lives Matter demonstrations last spring.
For a short period of time in late May and early June of 2020, the City of Detroit was under a curfew order that required people to stay off city streets after 8 p.m. — unless they were going to the doctor, drug store, grocery store, or to or from work.
City officials say "large numbers" of demonstrators violated the curfew on May 31, June 1 and June 2; dozens of them receiving appearance citations for misdemeanors related to the BLM marches, which continued into the evening hours, despite the curfew.
Detroit Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia says the city law department studied videotape and other evidence from the events in question, and decided to dismiss most of the misdemeanor tickets "related to the afterhours activity."
"The departments have also considered the discretion that was exercised during that week — where, for example, citations written on June 1 were never submitted to the court, and where many protesters were not ticketed at all, despite being out after curfew," Garcia wrote, in a release Tuesday. "In light of that review, the Law Department is dismissing the majority of misdemeanor tickets issued on May 31 and June 2."
Meanwhile, officials said certain cases from that weekend are still being pursued, including against those who demonstrated violent behavior.
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Detroit Police Chief James Craig said between Friday, May 29 and Sunday, June 7, a total of 421 adults were arrested and three juveniles were detained in connection with the protests. He said 32% of them lived in Detroit, 68% were from the suburbs, and ten from out of state, including California, New York, Ohio, Washington D.C., and Tennessee.
While Craig said there was no looting or arson, some damage was done, including multiple police vehicles damaged.
While many protesters were peaceful and well-behaved, Craig said, he suggested that small groups of non-residents were "intent to produce intention and violence" in the city. In some cases, protesters confronted by officers in riot gear threw rocks, bottles and fireworks.
Detroit was just one of many U.S. cities where such demonstrations that took place during the spring and summer of 2020, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on Memorial Day.
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