Black Lives Matter protesters continue to rally against police brutality following death of George Floyd and others

BOSTON — Protesters took to the streets on Sunday to continue demonstrations against police brutality following the death of George Floyd and others while in police custody.

Several events were held in and around Boston to call for justice and peace along with demands for change to the criminal justice system and the use of excessive force by police against innocent people of color.

The Black Lives Matter movement is intrinsically tied to the push to end police brutality and the use of excessive force as these tactics are more often used to detain people of color, even in situations where the individual has not committed a crime.

The most recent example of police brutality and now the face of the movement is the story of George Floyd, a 43-year-old black man who was detained by police under the assumption he had been using a counterfeit $20 bill. A now former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, was recorded kneeling on Floyd’s neck, effectively killing him, for nine minutes after Floyd had already been detained, restrained and pushed onto the ground.

Protests erupted after the video of the incident went viral, starting first locally in Minneapolis and the surrounding area and then eventually sparking across other cities in all 50 states.

After protesters took to the streets to denounce Floyd’s death, murder charges were brought against Chauvin and three other police officers.

People of all ages and all races came together to protest together to fight racial injustices locally and across the country.

At 2 p.m., a group gathered at the North Common in Lawrence and a coalition of faith-based organizations are holding an interfaith memorial service for George Floyd and other African Americans who have been killed. That’s happening at Bethel African American Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plain.

Religious leaders gather in Boston for a service in memory of George Floyd Religious leaders across the greater Boston area gathered in Jamaica Plain on Sunday to remember George Floyd and other people of color killed by police.

A group of about 20 to 30 Black Lives Matter protesters lined up outside of the Lawrence Police Department.

Yet, later into the evening, protests in Lawrence seemed to have taken a turn, where people were seen throwing things at police and one protester was detained right in front of our cameras.

Demonstrations in Lawrence protest by police station, make their voices heard on Sunday In Lawrence, protests that started peacefully took a brief turn as the sun went down, but demonstrators were encouraged to make their voices heard.

At 4 p.m., a group of organizations, including the Boston Coalition and Massachusetts Public Defenders, gathered to hold a march at Boston City Hall Plaza. At least a thousand people were seen protesting at Boston City Hall at around 4:30 p.m.

Protesters march from City Hall to BPD Headquarters Protesters in Boston gathered by City Hall before they made their way to the Boston Police Headquarters in Roxbury.

In Boston, after demonstrators met at City Hall, they began marching toward the Boston Police Headquarters in Roxbury.

Boston Police were stationed by their headquarters as protesters marched that way. Meanwhile, in Downtown Boston, members of the National Guard oversaw demonstrators walk by.

Protesters in Boston continued demonstration into the night, marching to State House and taking a knee Following a protest that started in Downtown Boston and made its way to the BPD headquarters, many demonstrators continued to protest late into the night by the State House.

By nighttime, hundreds of protesters had gathered by the State House, blocking traffic and taking a knee as they asked officials nearby to join them.

Buses by Ruggles station were detoured as demonstrators blocked off traffic.

Protesters could be heard chanting, “I don’t see no riot here, why are you in riot gear?”

Also in Boston, protesters flocked to the Boston Common and continued to protest

Protesters that spoke to Boston 25 yesterday said that this is a chance for their voices to be heard.

“You can feel the energy you can feel the vibes, you learn more, you talk to different people, you get their experiences,” said one protester. "Just like they got to hear my experience, and I’m hearing other people’s experiences – people I may not have ever met.

Other protests are scheduled to take place in East Longmeadow, Framingham, Hull, Melrose, Milford, Shrewsbury, Swampscott, Ware, Westboro, Whitman and Worcester.

Businesses have boarded up their storefronts in preparation for the protests. Despite recent demonstrations starting and ending peacefully, business owners say they are not taking any chances.

Members of the National Guard stood behind barricades along the march route and blocked off side streets as protestors headed toward Boston Police Headquarters.

“I think one of the lessons we’ve learned, is that unfortunately there are groups that have nefarious intent that are infiltrating some of the peaceful protests, and that’s really what we’re looking out for,” said Lt. Colonel Bryan Pillai, Military Police Commander with the National Guard.

National Guardsmen help police Boston protests on Sunday Members of the National Guard, deployed to Massachusetts for the COVID-19 pandemic, have been assisting local police in their response to protests.

Lt. Col. Pillai told Boston-25 News that roughly 500 guardsmen and women were stationed in small groups throughout the city to ensure that people could protest safely.

“We’re all from Massachusetts. None of us are responsive to any sort of federal activation. This is a state level entity. We all live here, I’ve lived many years in the city, this is our hometown, and we want to make sure that it’s safe.”

Lt. Col. Pillai added that National Guardsmen had been present in Boston throughout the week, standing by as backup to Boston Police in case violence were to escalate like it did on Sunday.

“We want to make sure that people can express their opinions and do so in a safe and peaceful manner, and if anything happens that were to disrupt that, we want to be here and present so that we don’t have a repeat of what happened on Sunday,” he said.

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