SPOKANE, Wash. — No damage or arrests have been reported in downtown Spokane after thousands of people demonstrated against police brutality on Sunday.
Organizers with Occupy Spokane say this protest was held in support of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot in March by the Louisville Police Department.
After several marches and gatherings in Riverfront Park, the group of protesters then went through the Peaceful Valley area and gathered at the Spokane County Courthouse. After leaving the courthouse, the group returned to the downtown area.
Photos: Spokane Black Lives Matter Protest June 7
An organizer with Occupy Spokane told KREM's Brandon Jones that the protest was officially ended early due to inclement weather.
In an interview with Up with KREM, Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward said most of the protesters dispersed at about 10 p.m. on Sunday.
“This was a very, very peaceful crowd. I think we had one incident where a couple gentleman tried to light a flag a couple of times, and some of the protesters stepped in and put the fire out," Woodward said. "I think we saw a different dynamic yesterday than what we saw the week before.”
The protest came a week after thousands of people descended on downtown Spokane and at the Spokane County campus in a demonstration against police brutality. The protest was one of hundreds across the nation after the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
More than a dozen people were arrested in Spokane following the protest.
“We learned some lessons last Sunday when we did have some rioting and looting," Woodward said on Monday.
Woodward also addressed the use of tear gas by police during protests, an action that was recently banned in Seattle for 30 days. She said police give multiple warnings to the crowd to disperse before tear gas is deployed.
“As I mentioned, tear gas is always a last resort. We give people plenty of time to disperse or to leave a scene before tear gas is deployed," Woodward said. "We use smoke first.”
“I think public safety is a priority, and when we have these marches where we have thousands of people downtown, we need to make sure we provide a safe environment for the protesters and for the community as well," she added.
Armed individuals were seen on Sunday in the downtown area, but Spokane Police Cpl. Teresa Fuller said police didn't contact them as a crime wasn't committed.
KREM's Amanda Roley learned that 80 National Guardsmen were at the Spokane County Courthouse. A helicopter has also been seen in the air above downtown Spokane.
The Spokane Police Department tweeted that a bucket of rocks had been found downtown during the protest. SPD spokesperson Julie Humphreys also said bricks were found downtown.
Humphreys said police would arrest anyone destroying property or being violent after the peaceful protest.
"At that point we hope that people will feel that they’ve made their statements and its time to go on and go home," Humphreys said. "But if there are people that want to hang around and cause trouble afterwards, we will be arresting people, we will use tactics that we need to to protect property downtown and to protect lives of the community and the people of Spokane.”
KREM's Brandon Jones spoke with some of the peaceful protesters, who said they were happy to see so much support in Spokane.
"I love this, this is absolutely the most wonderful thing I've ever seen. I live right across the street. I could see this from my balcony, but I had to come over and be a part of this," a woman said.
"It brings joy to my heart. It kind of makes me feel good to be here. It kind of makes me feel good that there’s so many people around here, because being a person of color, a lot of times I feel like I get different looks and different vibes at the places I go. So it’s kind of nice to kind of be able to gather here and feel welcome," a man told KREM.
The Spokane chapter of the NAACP released a statement in support of the protest on Sunday:
"Regarding today's protest and rally,
Occupy Spokane in collaboration with the Spokane NAACP appreciate all our populations desire to honor the historic purpose behind events like the one upcoming today.
Our organizations are in full agreement for today's event to be nonviolent protest and rally.
We have made it noticeably clear that we will not tolerate any fringe groups infiltrating or agitators instigating violence or destruction of any kind and we have communicated that unified intent to our governing municipalities.
There will be an official start and finish time for today's event.
That time is from 2:00 p.m. to 7 p.m.
We have also officially requested an 8:00 p.m. curfew considering the high-level emotional content and energy combined with the verified threat of agitators, instigators and infiltrators who have no desire for this event to remain productive, nonviolent and non-destructive.
We will not tolerate anyone and everyone who decides to operate outside of event times, curfew, and our nonviolent, non-destructive principles.
We encourage everyone to be engaged in having a meaningful experience that represents the best of the demands for change that we need to see."
Numbers from the last U.S Census show that African Americans make up less than three percent of the population in Spokane with whites being the majority at nearly 90 percent.
For the turnout to be so monumental, there had to be multiple demographics that showed up to support.
“We’ve collaborated with city leaders, organizations to really keep that message and stay true to what that message really is,” said Dustin Jolly, who heads up Occupy Spokane. “To not let that message be hijacked by extremist groups or people with their own agenda.”