BOSTON — Several rallies and marches in Boston on Sunday started out peaceful before turning violent and destructive as the night went on. On Monday morning, many crews were cleaning up the streets.
Video from Sunday night shows thousands of people filling the streets of Boston, marching peacefully to protest George Floyd’s May 25 death in Minnesota.
Many people carried signs that read “Black Lives Matter,” “Justice for George” and “Silence is violence.”
This crowd of hundreds of protesters now marching from City Hall to the State House in Boston. Here they’re chanting “our streets!” Were following them. Watch @boston25 #GeorgeFloyd #GeorgeFloydProtests pic.twitter.com/JCwZE1Zo6y
— Litsa Pappas (@LitsaPappas) May 31, 2020
One of the marches began in Roxbury and ended at the Massachusetts State House. As the day turned dark though, the situation devolved fast and the National Guard was called in to back up State and Boston Police.
Boston Police said officers were pelted with glass bottles, rocks and even bricks. Police cars were set on fire and people were looting, breaking into stores and smashing store-front windows.
On a day when businesses in Boston could open to start doing curbside pickup, many instead will be cleaning up after looters smashed storefronts and stole merchandise. #Boston25 pic.twitter.com/ReMopNsdKk
— Kelly Sullivan (@ksullivannews) June 1, 2020
As of 3 a.m., Boston Police said seven police officers were brought to the hospital for injuries and several more were treated on scene, 21 police cruisers were damaged and 40 people were arrested. That number is likely to increase.
Former Boston Police Chief Dan Linskey applauded the majority of the demonstrators who remained peaceful and eventually went home before things turned worse.
Another rally featured church leaders at Boston Police Headquarters, where people observed a moment of silence for 8 minutes and 49 seconds, which is the length of time that the Minneapolis Police Officer kneeled on George Floyd’s neck.
Video has been shared on social media of Boston Police officers standing atop one of their damaged cruisers Sunday night.
Boston Police Officer Kim Tavares responded to that video, saying, “The car was already damaged so in order for the officers to be able to move the vehicle, they had to break the glass to peel away the windshield out so they could safely drive it out.”
Many businesses were allowed to begin reopening on Monday for curbside pickup, but with store-front damage, broken glass and plywood covering doors and windows, some may have to wait.
Boston Board Up has arrived at the Marshalls and is working to clean up the shattered glass. They’ll board up the windows to prevent more looting @boston25 pic.twitter.com/YrWVWxrwPh
— Julianne Lima (@JulianneLimaTV) June 1, 2020
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