This time, Modesto’s protest in memory of George Floyd is entirely peaceful
Protesters against racial injustice returned to downtown Modesto on Friday, with little sign of the conflict that marred a gathering five days earlier.
Several hundred people came to Tenth Street Place to share their outrage at the May 25 death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. They knelt on the brick pavement for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the time that elapsed in a video of an officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck.
“Many lives have been lost to racism and police brutality, and we are saying today, enough is enough,” said Michael Baldwin, chairman of the criminal justice branch of the local NAACP.
Another speaker told of the brother she lost to an officer-involved shooting in Modesto last year.
A different scene from a week ago
This was downtown’s third large gathering in support of the Black Lives Matter movement since Floyd’s death. The second, involving more than 1,000 people on May 31, was mostly peaceful but ended with officers in riot gear clearing smaller groups of people from the streets.
Friday night, a few dozen officers stood by on horseback and bicycles as the vigil took place amid unseasonably cool breezes. The city has limited parking downtown through 6 a.m. Sunday, in anticipation of large crowds Friday and Saturday, but this one was anything but unruly.
A sister’s plea
Octavia Brown read a poem about the death of her brother, Dai’Shawn Brown, in a March 2019 shooting involving Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputies. Officials said he was wanted for an earlier carjacking when the shooting happened near Carver Road and Teresa Street.
“Dead at 19, from 20 gunshot wounds,” Octavia Brown said. “As a matter of fact, most of them were in his back ... What are we to do when the people we are supposed to call for help want to hurt us too?”
The shooting remains under investigation.
Police chief’s offer: change from the inside
Police Chief Galen Carroll repeated his statements from earlier this week that he was impressed with the overall tenor of the Modesto protests.
“What happened to George Floyd is completely unacceptable, so I understand why everybody’s here,” he said.
Carroll ended with in an invitation to apply for police jobs: “If you want to make a change, change it from the inside.”
Several other demonstrations are planned in the area today. The Bee will have updated coverage throughout the day.
This story was originally published June 6, 2020 at 9:23 AM with the headline "This time, Modesto’s protest in memory of George Floyd is entirely peaceful."
