Hundreds march through downtown SLO in fourth day of local George Floyd protests
A peaceful protest throughout downtown San Luis Obispo dissipated with few incidents Wednesday afternoon, though there were two brief altercations with vehicles as marchers walked throughout town.
The protest began at the SLO City Hall and was organized in response to the killing of Minneapolis man, George Floyd, by a police officer last month.
Cal Poly football team quarterback and protest co-organizer Jalen Hamler told The Tribune that he was there to “stop injustice and support black lives.”
“I think we are making an impact,” Hamler said. “We are bringing more and more people out each time. … We’re just happy to be out here and try to bring change.”
Hamler noted that the intent of the protest Wednesday was to remain peaceful, and avoid the turn that a different march took on Monday, when the San Luis Obispo Police Department fired tear gas, pepper spray and foam rounds into a crowd while blocking them from moving onto Highway 101.
Xavier Moore, another Cal Poly football player and organizer of Wednesday’s march, told The Tribune he was there to protest “mass incarceration, police brutality and lack of education for minorities, as well as all the other systems that are in place to repress minorities over the last 400 years — specifically African Americans.”
“We intend to be nothing but peaceful and we intend to continue being peaceful protesters in order to ensure nothing blows over or gets disregarded in the press or the media,” he said. “We want this to be the prevalent issue for months, years or decades if we need to until change has come.”
Downtown businesses board up windows, prepare for protest
As the city entered its fourth day of protests, the mood in the downtown corridor was tense.
Though there have been no reported instances of vandalism or property damage in San Luis Obispo related to protests, businesses were seen boarding up their windows in the afternoon and closing early at the recommendation of the city.
The city sent out a notice to downtown business owners Wednesday morning alerting them of the impending protest and recommending they consider closing early if necessary.
The recommendation also called for businesses to ensure their security cameras and alarm systems are on, and to stay away from the area if an alarm is activated.
As a precaution, the city also closed its downtown offices at 1 p.m., according to the notice.
A motorcycle group called Gold Coast Wheelers parked along Higuera Street soon after the protest started.
One of its members, Daniel “Chief” Galindo said they were there to prevent windows from being smashed.
“That can’t happen,” he said.
A hot march through San Luis Obispo
After a brief rally in front of City Hall, a march began to form along Higuera Street, with protesters carrying signs proclaiming “Color is not a crime,” and “End white supremacy.”
Chanting the names of people of color killed by police in the United States — George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Mike Brown and Trayvon Martin, among them — the march wound throughout downtown San Luis Obispo and up into residential neighborhoods surrounding the corridor.
San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon could be seen walking among the crowd, talking with protesters.
“I think in particular, what we have been hearing from people is that San Luis Obispo is not a place where people of color feel welcome and included,” Harmon told The Tribune. “We have an opportunity to do a better job. And we must do better.”
The weather was hot, and the group stopped frequently to pass out water bottles and for hydration breaks.
As they walked past a home, one homeowner offered to spray her hose on passersby on the sidewalk to help keep them cool.
When they returned to the downtown area, marchers passed the windows of buildings boarded up earlier in the day.
A brief tense moment occurred on Higuera Street when a car turned onto the road while protesters were marching down the center of it.
The driver of the car honked and backed her vehicle up, while march organizers directed the crowd to walk around the vehicle and let it pass.
Group demands change from SLOPD, Cal Poly
After Monday’s protest ended in a skirmish between police and protesters, many at Wednesday’s event were concerned about the police’s response.
A statement put out by a group of Cal Poly Football student athletes who helped organized the protest said they are committed to holding peaceful protests expressing their grievances for the death of Floyd, and “the many others who have been killed,” while calling for change among local police departments.
They said they don’t speak for whole team, but their goal is to bring attention to a wide range of issues such as anti-black racism, police brutality, access to a living wage, access to a higher education and called on ways SLO police and Cal Poly can help bring about racial justice.
Those include:
- ensuring officers have body cameras on at all times (especially during the protests).
- ensuring that footage of the protests and any use of forceful action is reviewed by a citizen’s police commission in efforts to be more transparent and hold police officers accountable for any misconduct
- that Cal Poly police officers undergo anti-bias training from an expert external to CSU police
- that police officer in the SLO community be trained in de-escalation tactics and techniques
- that university police officers be required to have a bachelor’s degree as a minimum educational requirement for hire
- that Cal Poly work to admit more African American students and fully support (educationally and financially) low-income, first generation students
- that Cal Poly commit to making the university as diverse as the people in the state of California in its administration leadership, in its faculty, in its staff and among the students.
Protester shares why he marched: ‘It’s about making peace.’
Toward the end of the roughly three-hour march, protesters made their way across the Santa Rosa Street bridge and down past the police station on Walnut Street.
With police lining the road on both sides of Santa Rosa Street, the march continued with members holding their hands up as they walked by the officers.
Samir Aburashed, owner of Fattoush SLO restaurant on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Santa Rosa Street, was marching with the protesters as they passed the Highway 101 bridge on Santa Rosa.
Aburashed, who said he was born and raised in San Luis Obispo, said he supports the ongoing protests.
“After 9/11, being an Arabic-American Muslim, I dealt with some discrimination and racism in this town,” he said. “Fast-forward years in the future to what’s going on, there is some discrimination. We do live in an amazing area, and we hope there can be change for the positive. We hope.”
“I see both sides. I see the law enforcement trying to keep the peace, keep things civil. We do live in such an amazing area ... At the same time though, being a minority in the area, when there’s a lot of people who aren’t similar to you, that can sometimes be challenging.”
He added: “But it’s about making peace, passing positive legislation (and) bridging the gaps, as opposed to creating more differences.”
Police say protester ‘threw himself onto hood’ of car
The group finally stopped in the intersection of Santa Rosa Street and Foothill Boulevard to honor an 8-minute-and-46-second moment of silence for Floyd’s memory.
The length of that moment of silence is significant: Videos show officer Derek Chauvin, who has since been charged with second degree murder, knelt on Floyd’s neck for that length of time while arresting Floyd on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill.
While the group knelt in the intersection, a car made a turn onto Foothill from Santa Rosa.
Matt Wilkens, who was at the corner of the intersection at the same time, told The Tribune a male protester seemed to attempt to stop the car from driving onto the road, but when the car revved and lurched forward, he moved away from it.
Then the protester jumped back in front of the vehicle, at which point the car drove off and the man fell to the ground, appearing to people at the scene to have been struck.
Police made their way over to the area and began questioning the man and witnesses on what happened.
Capt. Brian Amoroso later Wednesday night told The Tribune that police determined that the person “threw himself onto the hood and yelled that he was struck.”
Amoroso said the driver was determined to not be at fault. The police are continuing to investigate the incident.
Nearby, the protest continued with speakers urging those assembled to continue their efforts year-round, not just at one protest, and to educate others.
The protesters peacefully dispersed around 5:30 p.m., with only a few small groups lingering in the area.
San Luis Obispo police chief commends organizers for ‘peaceful event’
In a statement to the media Wednesday night, Cantrell thanked the march’s organizers for a safe and peaceful event.
“I want to thank the protest organizers and community leaders who came together today to provide a peaceful event in our community,” Cantrell said. “Our community supports peaceful protests and the expression of our fundamental rights. The city will continue to protect all of our community members and keep them safe to ensure voices are heard at this important time.”
A news release said the police department was able to meet with organizers ahead of the march with help from R.A.C.E. Matters SLO County to discuss goals for the event and how to protect the safety of protesters and the community.
Cantrell has previously said that communication with the police department prior to holding a protest or rally helps in the safe management of such an event.
At least one more protest is planned for this week.
NAACP San Luis Obispo County will hold a nonviolent Action Rally at 5 p.m. Thursday at the San Luis Obispo County courthouse.
That event, co-hosted by R.A.C.E. Matters and the Cal Poly Black Faculty, is one of four simultaneous events happening around the Central Coast. For more information, visit www.naacpslocty.org.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to list the source of the demands among the group protesters, and to include new information on an altercation between a protester and a vehicle.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 2:03 PM.
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