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Spokane police explain why juvenile was arrested for throwing paper at officer during protest

Spokane police said the juvenile threw a piece of paper at a patrol vehicle that possibly had something stuffed inside.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Two protesters were arrested at an otherwise peaceful protest for Breonna Taylor in downtown Spokane Saturday afternoon. 

One of the people arrested was a juvenile. The juvenile was arrested due to "his behavior during the arrest of the adult male," according to a Facebook post from the Spokane Police Department. Police said the juvenile threw a piece of paper at a patrol vehicle that possibly had something stuffed inside.  

The arrests came as the group of approximately 100-150 people were marching northbound on Monroe Street to the Public Safety Building, according to Julie Humphreys with the Spokane Police Department. 

An adult male who was marching with other protesters continually jumped in front of officers on bike patrol, trying to cause them to wreck, Humphreys said. The man was warned numerous times that he was endangering others and asked to stop, according to Humphreys. 

The man continued to jump in front of bicycle officers, at which point he was arrested and booked into jail for obstructing a law enforcement officer, Humphreys said. 

According to Spokane police, there were still 15-20 people in the area of the arrest and patrol car. When the patrol started to move forward, officers saw a male running toward the passenger side of the vehicle, police said. 

Police said the officer reported the juvenile had "wound up like an outfielder trying to throw a baseball to home plate." The officer couldn't see what was in the juvenile's hand and was concerned for his safety, according to police. 

The item turned out to be a piece of paper and officers believe something was stuffed inside the paper in order to maintain velocity, police said. 

"Based on recent attacks of officers around the country, the officer believed the item to be a rock, bottle, or worse," Spokane police wrote on Facebook. "The juvenile’s behavior of sprinting toward the police car holding something in his hand to throw at officers, coupled with actually throwing the item at law enforcement, resulted in the charge of disorderly conduct." 

These are the first arrests made at a protest since the first protest of the season on May 31, which followed the death of George Floyd, according to Humphreys. 

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