PD: 18 people arrested after downtown Phoenix protest against police brutality
PD: 18 people arrested after downtown Phoenix protest against police brutality
Officers declared their protest an unlawful assembly because they were reportedly blocking traffic.
PHOENIX - Police say 18 people were arrested in downtown Phoenix during a protest against police brutality on Oct. 17.
The demonstrators started marching Saturday night near 10th Avenue and Van Buren.
According to officials, protesters were blocking traffic, knocking barricades into the street, and throwing "incendiary devices" at police officers.
Police declared an unlawful assembly half an hour after the protests began.
18 people were arrested after protesting in downtown Phoenix on Oct. 17. Not all mugshots were immediately available. (MCSO)
"As officers began making arrests, another incendiary device was thrown at them," police wrote in a statement. "Due to the ongoing criminal activity and assault, the Phoenix Police deployed less lethal munitions in order to safely make arrests."
Police arrested 15 adults: Nathaniel Llanes, Dominic Bonelli, Christoper Roberson, Kaleb Martin, Nathan Aderholdt, Amy Kaper, Marysa Leyva, Riley Behrens, Suvarna Ratnam, Jessica Gibson, Britney Austin, Kalixta Villasaez, Brenda Diaz, Jacquelyne Alacaraz and Ryder Collins for unlawful assembly. Many of them face charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, obstructing a public thoroughfare and hindering prosecution.
Three teenagers were also arrested.
The W.E. Rising Project, a community organization that has led multiple demonstrations against racism and police violence in the past, said police arrested innocent civil rights advocates.
"For the record someone was shot in the face with a pepper round, last night," the organization wrote on Twitter.