National Guard called to LA as protests descend into chaos
Cars are burning and malls are being torn apart and set alight in Los Angeles, with policing fending off protesters with rubber bullets and batons.
America is tonight on the brink, with scenes of utter chaos playing out across the country from Los Angeles to New York as tens of thousands of people take to the streets with fury.
Violent protests over the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer show no signs of easing, with the Californian city the latest to be hit by rioting and widespread property destruction.
President Donald Trump has repeated his warning to send in the military if order isn’t restored and city leaders across the United States are pleading for calm.
But those pleas are falling on deaf ears, with huge crowds of people tearing through LA. Police there have fired rubber bullets at demonstrators, some of whom have set fire to police cars, looted shops and overrun malls.
Rioters set fire to an LA Police Department kiosk, while the flagship Adidas store on Melrose Ave was one of several retail outlets to be ransacked.
A group of people made their way along the famous shopping strip, home to boutiques and specialty stores, breaking storefront windows and causing destruction along the way.
Gucci and Altivo were targeted, as was a watch store and a nail salon, while vision showed several people tearing into an ATM.
Dozens of cars – including police patrol vehicles – have been smashed and graffitied with messages like “kill cops” and “Nazi cops”.
One of the protesters told Channel 9 that burning police cars was in retaliation to aggression and the use of rubber bullets from officers on the ground.
“The police came out here, we were quiet and peaceful, and they used aggressive force, pushing people and knocking people out, and then they start shooting, and they want us to keep peaceful and keep calm, after all what you guys have done,” she said.
“We were walking on the streets, cars were honking, and then the police came with aggressive force. That’s what made us retaliate to the guns and hitting us with batons.”
A curfew has been put in place and LA Mayor Eric Garcetti has asked for the National Guard to step in.
The rally’s speakers called for fewer public dollars for police departments and for schools and prisons to be overhauled.
“We’re living in the middle of an uprising,” Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors told the group. “Let’s be clear: We are in an uprising for black life.”
This is the fourth night of unrest in the city, but by far the worst. The Los Angeles Police Department said more than 530 people were arrested during demonstrations on Friday night.
Mr Garcetti has expanded the curfew to the entire city, which will be in place from 8pm to 5.30am. Residents were sent public safety alerts on their mobile phones informing them of the curfew.
More here
https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/cop-cars-burned-in-absolute-chaos-in-los-angeles/news-story/fb47e1454ea835a34d2fb1e417f65f1d
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