COLUMBUS – Curfews were extended last night in Ohio’s three biggest cities in anticipation of more rallies protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man, while being held down by a Minneapolis police officer who has been charged with murder.
UPDATE: A citywide curfew was in effect in Columbus from 10:00 p.m. Tuesday until 6:00 a.m. Wednesday. The state of emergency in Columbus will continue indefinitely.
Chief Tom Quinlan joined protesters Monday evening in downtown #Columbus@ChiefQuinlan, hundreds of protesters & dozens of officers walked together with 1 mission: to have open discussion about #race & #policing
At the end everyone gathered in #prayerhttps://t.co/NMPXXHWi9A pic.twitter.com/abxkohF8Ms
— Columbus Division of Police (@ColumbusPolice) June 2, 2020
There was a fifth day of protests downtown yesterday over Floyd’s death of George Floyd and WBNS 10-TV reports they were almost entirely uneventful as officers talked with protesters and even marched alongside them, including Chief Thomas Quinlan and Deputy Chief Jennifer Knight.
Later on, the demonstration moved north on High Street from the Statehouse to the intersection of Lane Avenue and N. High Street near the OSU campus past curfew.
Police were seen using pepper spray to disperse the crowd, spraying reporters from the OSU student newspaper The Lantern, despite the media being exempt from the curfew.
From Thursday until Sunday, 81 people were arrested for crimes related to protests that left windows shattered and may have led to at least one suspicious fire.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein says 13 people were charged with felonies while the rest face misdemeanor charges handled by Klein’s office.
He says his office has receive numerous calls to release all those arrested and the dismissal of charges.
“I believe we have an obligation to look at each case individually to see exactly what has been alleged and the severity of the conduct that occurred,” Klein said.
Dozens more people have been arrested in protests around Ohio.
Cincinnati police said 40 to 50 people were arrested, many for violating an 8:00 p.m. curfew.
Police said several weapons were seized, including one with a 100-round magazine.
Mayor John Cranley apologized for the police detention Monday night of a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter, calling it “a big mistake.” He was released without charges.