Protests in Dallas, Fort Worth seek justice for black Americans killed by police

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The protests — and some of the turmoil — sweeping the nation reached North Texas on Friday evening.

Outside police headquarters near downtown Dallas nearly a thousand people came to demand justice for black Americans who have been killed by officers in recent weeks.

André Watson, a 30-year-old teacher, stood at the outskirts of the growing crowd, tears streaming down his face, at a loss about what more he can do to help bring change.

He said he was only 10 when a police officer first stopped and questioned him.

“I write to my senators. I write to my representatives,” he said. “I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

He said that he hoped coming to the protest will mean something in the long run to help end police violence.

Dallas resident Veronica Brown, 50, said the protest was the first she’d ever attended.

Her hope is that police will learn to interact with residents more: “Get to know us. Find out what’s going on before you put matters into your own hands," she said.

Dallas protesters gather to march for George Floyd

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Whatever their expectations for change, the protesters were united in their anger over the recent deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

A Minneapolis officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while he was handcuffed Monday on the ground as onlookers watched in horror. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was arrested Friday on charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter. He and three other officers — J.K. Keung, Thomas Lane and Tou Thoa — were fired Tuesday.

Taylor, a 26-year-old Kentucky woman, was fatally shot by officers serving a no-knock warrant at her apartment May 13.

Friday evening, before the Dallas protest organized by Next Generation Action Network began, dozens of people outside the police headquarters chanted, “We want justice” and “No justice, no peace." Some carried signs reading, “We can’t breathe” and “All lives can’t matter until black lives matter.”

By 6:30 p.m., the group had swelled to about 150, and the demonstrators took a knee in solidarity with those who have been affected by police brutality.

The action was a tribute to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s silent form of protest, which became the subject of national controversy.

“It’s a great way for people — any color, of any socioeconomic background — to take a knee in solidarity to say: Enough is enough," said Anthony Lazon, founder of the nonprofit group Dallas for Change. “We’re not moving forward until we address these issues."

He said organizers hoped to educate protesters on ways to push for greater police accountability in Dallas, noting the importance of the newly reformed police oversight board.

“I think there will be a moving sentiment, a peaceful sentiment," he said earlier Friday. “We definitely don’t want to escalate things into violence.”

August Mattevi and daughter Noah Dyer, 11, of Fort Campbell, Ky., were among those in the crowd, which continued to swell more than an hour into the protest, filling the plaza outside the police station and spilling onto sidewalks across the street.

“How many black people that are unarmed have to be killed by police?” Mattevi asked. “There’s been so many.”

Just after 8 p.m., as police seemed to be preparing for the crowd to start marching, state Sen. Royce West asked people to take a knee.

West, a Dallas Democrat running for his party’s nomination in the U.S. Senate race, said a prayer and asked for justice. He also asked the protesters to applaud for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has called Floyd’s death “horrific.”

“There’s more to be done,” West said. “Don’t let this be the last time that you engage.”

As the sun set, the protesters began marching through the Cedars, then north into downtown Dallas.

Some in the crowd stopped alongside a Dallas County Sheriff’s Department vehicle, throwing water bottles against its windows and kicking its doors. One protester appeared to strike the squad car with a skateboard before it drove off.

Other protesters could be seeing throwing objects at other law enforcement vehicles, or spraying graffiti on them.

Police Chief U. Reneé Hall, who has condemned the actions of the Minneapolis officers, was out among the officers monitoring the march.

“We’re giving you the streets,” she told one protester after objecting to demonstrators throwing rocks at her officers. “Don’t hit my folks.”

Tensions continued to rise as the night wore on.

Several hundred of the protesters continued onto Interstate 35E, where they blocked traffic as authorities ordered them to disperse.

At Young and Griffin streets downtown, people started running — many of them coughing — as policed released tear gas. In other areas, smoke was used for crowd control.

Hall later defended the use of tear gas to disperse the crowd, saying it kept people from being hurt.

Much of the crowd left, but dozens continued to walk through the streets, some of them antagonizing police, damaging law enforcement vehicles and committing minor acts of vandalism.

Dallas police said one officer was hurt during the protest and that she was being treated for injuries that weren’t life-threatening. A department spokesman said no further information was available about those injuries or how they were sustained.

In downtown Fort Worth, several dozen protesters met at the old courthouse Friday. They marched to Sundance Square, where they knelt and chanted “I can’t breathe.”

Officials’ responses

Dallas police said in a written statement ahead of the protest that they would not interfere with “a lawful and peaceful assembly” of demonstrators exercising their First Amendment rights but would take action if protesters committed criminal offenses or blocked traffic.

Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua, who represents South Dallas, said he supports the Black Lives Matter movement but didn’t plan to attend the protest, which he feared could lead to violence similar to that of July 7, 2016.

“I don’t like what I’m seeing across the country,” he said, referring to the unrest over Floyd’s death. “I’m just too afraid that something bad may happen.”

Dominique Alexander, the head of Next Generation Action Network — which organized the July 7 protest as well — said he was tired of being asked whether frustrations at the events would boil over.

“If you don’t violate my rights, Dallas won’t burn,” he said.

Before the protest began, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said he supported people’s right to protest peacefully and encouraged them to stay as safe as possible with the coronavirus pandemic in mind.

As demonstrators streamed through the streets of downtown late in the evening, he posted on Twitter that he was monitoring the situation.

“I understand the outrage, and I feel this pain deeply. What happened in Minneapolis is unacceptable. But please, remain peaceful,” he said.

Protests have spread across the country in the aftermath of Floyd’s death, with demonstrations in Minneapolis and other cities turning violent.

Houston protest

In Houston, the city where George Floyd grew up, several thousand people blocked a downtown freeway Friday as they marched after a rally to protest his death.

The protesters ended up alongside Interstate 69, usually one of Houston’s more heavily traveled traffic arteries.

A group of 60 to 70 people started by running to the freeway, where they marched for at least half an hour.

Houston police accompanied the protesters as they marched for less than a half mile along the freeway before leaving it. No arrests were made, and the protesters then walked to a nearby park.

Staff writers Cassandra Jaramillo and Hayat Norimine and The Associated Press contributed to this report.