Updates: Protest organizer arrested as march was winding down
Update, 9 p.m.: After most of the protesters dispersed from Mitchell Park, several police officers from San Luis Police Department approached a group of the protest organizers.
The protesters were placing their signs and other materials in a car when police immediately charged and pushed against the small group.
The police targeted Tianna Arata, the protest’s main organizer, and immediately grabbed her and took her into their car.
Protesters who witnessed the event said she was not resisting arrest and that police officers said they were arresting her for inciting a riot.
Several protesters then went to the County Jail on Kansas Avenue to demand Arata’s release.
In a news release, the city said Arata was facing 5 charges: participation in a riot, unlawful assembly, conspiracy, unlawful imprisonment and resisting arrest.
Another protester was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
Police said a car on the highway was damaged when someone smashed its back window.
Update, 8:15 p.m.: The protesters made their way back to Mitchell Park. Organizes said the next march would be on July 25.
Update, 7:30 p.m.: On Twitter, District Attorney Dan Dow issued what he called a “public safety alert” in response to protesters blocking Highway 101.
“This is unlawful and incredibly dangerous,” Dow wrote. “It must stop.”
Update, 7 p.m.: Protesters have marched onto Highway 101, forcing the closure of all lanes in both directions.
After marching around downtown for a little over 40 minutes, they entered the freeway at Osos Street. San Luis Obispo police blocked and diverted traffic.
Protesters marched north up the 101 singing and walking by cars idling along the freeway. Hundreds of cars were blocked by the dozens of protesters with nowhere to go.
Protesters walked about a half mile before pausing just before the exit to California Boulevard for a moment of silence of 8 minutes, 46 seconds.
Tensions rose when an angry counter-protester started yelling at the crowd and trucks began to honk.
The protesters then continued marching north again, chanting “Black lives matter” before exiting at California.
Original story:
Up to 300 protesters gathered in Mitchell Park near downtown San Luis Obispo on Tuesday evening to advocate for black lives, sparked largely by a recent video that surfaced of SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson speaking on the issue of racism to the North San Luis Obispo County Tea Party earlier this month.
In one part of the video, Parkinson said racism exists, but not in this county.
“I said the only thing I know about prejudice is when I put on a uniform and somebody doesn’t like me because I’m wearing a uniform,” Parkinson said in the video. “I do understand in areas that have heavy minority communities, how they might feel that way, but here in San Luis Obispo, we’re being trashed by this issue of something that truly is not here in that form.”
“Racism is everywhere,” he told The Tribune, but said he’s “never seen any indication that systemic racism exists in this county.”
Participant Melissa Elizalde took issue with that characterization.
“That is his white privilege,” Elizalde said of the sheriff. “He is an elected official in this county, and if you’re here, you need to write in to get him the (expletive) out.”
Organizers spoke from the park’s gazebo before leading a march downtown. They stressed that safety and keeping the protest nonviolent was their top priority.
But, after a week of no protests in the city, organizers called for SLO County to rise up again.
“Bring your anger, bring your energy,” organizer Josephine Agorunh shouted.
Energy was certainly high as the protest began. Protest organizers yelled without the aid of their loudspeakers, and organizers cheered, chanted and applauded loudly. Almost all of the protesters were wearing masks.
Protesters began marching along Pismo Street at just after 5 p.m. chanting, “no cops, no prisons, total abolition,” before turning right on Chorro Street to head downtown.
The crowd seemed to double as protesters shouts echoed off the walls of downtown businesses and restaurants. One organizer said Police Chief Deanna Cantrell said they would not be able to march along the streets and should stay on the sidewalks.
There were no barricades set up in the streets to block traffic. Drivers along Chorro and cross streets were forced to idle as the protesters marched by.
At one point, protesters stopped for a while at the intersection of Higuera and Chorro streets. A couple of protesters began stomping on an American flag that was partially burnt. A white man came up to stop the protesters, but he was quickly turned away by a group of angry demonstrators.
Protesters then continued down Chorro street shortly after 5:30 p.m. with continuous chants.
SLO mayor responds to Parkinson video
San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon was among those who attended Tuesday’s protest.
“We obviously have, I would say, a significant lack of diversity here. And we hear over and over again that people of color, and especially black people in particular, feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome here,” she said. “People in San Luis Obispo may be surprised to hear that, right? Because there’s a sense that people are nice here. I think that those of us that are white and have the privilege of all of that don’t understand how sort of alone and unconnected people feel.”
She said she was troubled by the sheriff’s comments, both on the issue of racism and COVID-19.
“This isn’t about violence. This is about taking a stance against systemic violence that is perpetrated against people of color every day in this country,” Harmon said. “Now, is it loud? Is it angry? Is it edgy? Are they using every swear word in the book? Yes. And that makes people uncomfortable.
“The way that he characterized this movement is not only inaccurate, but it seems intentionally inflammatory and coming from a place of an intentional lack of understanding of this movement,” she said.
On the issue of masks, she said, “I found the ‘you could wear masks or you could not wear masks, it’s up to you’ comment to be very, deeply concerning, coming from this person who’s in a position of authority. ... I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me deeply concerned about the video.”
This is a continuing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 5:03 PM.
