Last update: 4:54 p.m.
LAS CRUCES - Hundreds of protesters calling for justice in response to recent cases of police brutality and racially fueled hate crowded on to one of Las Cruces' busiest streets on Saturday.
In maybe the most visible Las Cruces protest to date, authorities estimate 200 to 300 marched peacefully on Lohman Avenue, sometimes weaving in and out of traffic and often lining the four crosswalks when they arrived at an intersection.
Tensions were highest shortly after noon when a driver drove through a group of protesters, shoving one off-balance with the vehicle as other protesters screamed and hit the car at the Lohman-Walton Boulevard intersection. However, Las Cruces police officers quickly intervened. Officers asked protesters to clear the intersection, which they did. Then, traffic was allowed to move from the intersection and protesters returned.
"We were protesting in the crosswalk area, and the car was honking for us to move. They (the car) didn’t want to listen to the officer’s commands. The vehicle proceeded to drive through protesters and struck the protesters with the vehicle," said Ashlerose Francia, a protester who witnessed the scene. "It is an inappropriate and egregious action to respond to peaceful protesters with violence. There was seemingly no response to this action from officers."
About 1 p.m., with traffic cleared, protesters lined the crosswalks at the Lohman-Walton intersection and took a knee for nine minutes. That's the amount of time former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into the neck of George Floyd, who died from asphyxiation.
Chauvin is facing a second-degree murder charge and three other officers have been charged with aiding and abetting.
Americans across the nation have stopped to commemorate the life and grieve the death of Floyd, 46, whose dying words, “I can’t breathe,” have given life to a searing moment in the nation’s fraught struggle for human rights.
A few days following Floyd's death on My 25, protests against police brutality and racism begin in Las Cruces at the corner of Main Street and Picacho Avenue. Vigils for Floyd were held Sunday, May 31 at Albert Johnson Park, which at the Main-Picacho intersection; and Tuesday, June 2 at Plaza de Las Cruces.
More:
- Burrell medical students in Las Cruces protest for equitable health care, George Floyd
- George Floyd mourners, protesters gather in Minneapolis
- Las Cruces man's death at hands of police ruled a homicide
Saturday's protest was the first outside of downtown Las Cruces and the first to impede traffic.
"It's hard for a lot of people to show up to protest and to have a voice because fear of retribution, especially with all the negative stuff," said Ryan Stalding, a protester that joined with the group. "I feel that due to all the other states' responses, it shows unity and that gives strength to a lot of other places to speak up and voice that they don't agree either."
Dan Trujillo, LCPD spokesman, said protesters remained peaceful throughout the three-hour protest and the department received only one report of disobedience. A police officer reported protesters threw water bottles at a vehicle just east of the Lohman-Nacho Drive intersection.
Trujillo was not aware of the incident between the vehicle and protesters at Lohman and Walton when reached about 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
At that time, no arrests and no injuries related to the protest had been reported, Trujillo said.
"From what I heard there was a good rapport (between the protesters and police officers," he said.
'No justice. No peace'
The protesters, many aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement, gathered in the parking lot to Target, 2541 Lohman Ave., to organize. About 11 a.m., they marched to Lohman and Telshor Boulevard and lined the crosswalks, preventing traffic from entering the intersection.
Protesters chanted "No justice. No Peace" as well as the names of Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others.
Workers at the nearby Burger King stood on the roof of the business and cheered the protest.
Las Cruces police were aware of the planned protest, Trujillo said. He said the department had asked protest organizers to keep it to the sidewalk but had a plan in case that didn't happen.
He said officers were dispatched to that intersection ahead of time to ensure protesters and traffic didn't mix.
"That's a thoroughfare to the two hospitals," Trujillo said. "We were there to keep it peaceful and keep it accessible, especially for emergency vehicles."
As soon as protesters entered the street, officers blocked traffic on Telshor at Spruce Avenue and at Foothills Road and on Lohman at Interstate 25 and at Foothills Road.
Protest heads south on Lohman
By 11:45 a.m., protesters had dispersed from the Lohman-Telshor intersection, the largest group heading west on Lohman. Others groups traveled south on Telshor to the Foothills intersection and east on Lohman to near the Nacho intersection.
The group of protesters who marched west eventually blocked traffic on the Lohman overpass over I-25. As police directed vehicles to turn around, some drivers yelled at the protesters to leave.
The march continued west on Lohman, where protesters weaved through traffic and toward the intersection of Walton Boulevard. That's when a driver bumped a protester. Protesters began hitting the car in response. Police officers quickly gained control of the situation and calm ensued.
By 2:30 p.m., protesters had returned to their vehicles and traffic had resumed to normal along Lohman and Telshor.
Nathan J. Fish can be reached at nfish@lcsun-news.com and @PhotoJFish on Twitter. Lucas Peerman can be reached at lpeerman@lcsun-news.com and @LittleGuyInATie on Twitter.
Editor's note: We removed a statement saying a protester was knocked to the ground by a vehicle after that proved not to be true.
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