Protesters against police brutality block intersection near Oakland police headquarters
Protests for George Floyd in Oakland.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Local community leaders and activists are protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.
Protesters gathered near Oakland police headquarters Thursday afternoon to demand justice for Floyd and to rally against police brutality.
Skyfox flew above and could see about 30 people sitting in the middle of an intersection just below Interstate 880.
Oakland police are monitoring the situation with California Highway Patrol stationed at nearby on-ramps.
The protests appeared to be peaceful thus far. Around 6 p.m., activists began to march toward the downtown Oakland area.
Oakland police said they have increased staffing to facilitate freedom of speech and to maintain public safety.
Oakland Police Department Chief Susan Manheimer issued a statement on Floyd's death:
“The men and woman of the Oakland Police Department are deeply disturbed at what we observed in the video involving George Floyd and the Minneapolis Police Department.
It is paramount for us to continue to build trust and relationships with our community members and this reflects on all of us in our profession.
We at the Oakland Police Department train and practice that all of our officers treat every individual with dignity and respect.
We stand with our community in denouncing this incident and all incidents of police brutality. We stand with all in our community who have traditionally been marginalized, oppressed and who have been harmed by our systems and institutions. We extend our deepest condolences to George Floyd and his family.”
In addition, the police officers' unions from Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose released a joint statement condemning the police conduct in the video that shows an officer pressing his knee down on Floyd's neck while handcuffed for as long as five minutes.
“What we saw on that video was inconsistent and contrary to everything we have been taught as academy recruit or a police officer, but as human beings," the statement read in part. They also said they could not defend the conduct of the officers involved and were disturbed that no officer intervened.