George Floyd, Part 3

George Floyd Protests, Part 3: Demanding Change

As reports of police brutality in Los Angeles continued to surface, LAPD began de-escalating its response to the daily protests. The California National Guard diffused tensions in Hollywood after the police retreated to the applause of the protesters on June 2, 2020. Nightly curfew enforcement began an hour or two after the start of curfew, until Mayor Eric Garcetti lifted the curfew altogether on June 4. The guardsmen eventually withdrew from Los Angeles on June 7.

Protesters likewise encouraged each other to be peaceful. A march leader who identified himself as “X” asked his fellow protesters to save their anger and energy for tomorrow instead of getting arrested today. A group of protesters at City Hall on June 3 told news media to film their arrest in full—they said they wanted to show that they neither feared nor resisted arrest.

Angelenos across many cultures also held memorials for victims of police violence. Hundreds of surfers gathered across LA County for a memorial paddle-out, usually a tradition to honor the death of someone in the surfing community. Local artists and creatives painted murals dedicated to George Floyd and other victims of police violence. The words "All Black Lives Matter" now adorn a section of Hollywood Boulevard in rainbow colors, a show of support for the LGBT Black community.

On June 5, protesters at a police vigil for Floyd lashed out at LAPD Chief Michel Moore when he did not give what they were asking for: A promise of change. Meanwhile, people of color continued to die at the hands of law enforcement: Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies shot and killed 18-year-old Andres Guardado on June 18 and 29-year-old Dijon Kizzee on Aug. 31, renewing protests against law enforcement in the county. Sheriff's deputies in particular have met these protests with heavy use of so-called "less lethal" weapons such as tear gas and rubber bullets.

Floyd was laid to rest in Houston, his hometown, Monday, June 8, 2020. Even as protests have shifted to focus on other victims of police killings, Floyd's name has become synonymous with the fight for racial justice.

A protest leader who identified himself as "X," right, tells his fellow protester Tuesday, June 2, 2020, that they should stay nonviolent, avoid arrest and save the energy for more protests to come in the following days.

Protesters applaud the California Army National Guard after the guardsmen took over from the Los Angeles Police Department in diffusing tension with the protesters in Hollywood Tuesday, June 2, 2020. The protest was allowed to continue at least an hour past a countywide curfew and no immediate arrests were made.

A protester gives a guardsman a hug Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Many protesters welcomed the National Guard and opened conversation with guardsmen, who they considered different from the local police officers and sheriffs.

A Black man urges peace to hundreds others protesting with him Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Protesters mainly fell into one of two schools of thought—one considered arrest to be an inevitable consequence or even a part of the protest while the other sought to avoid arrests and open talks with the police.

Christopher Perez, a local artist, paints a mural of George Floyd on the plywood of a boarded-up store on Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue Saturday, June 13, 2020. The mural was taken down a few days later as The Hollywoodland Experience, the gift shop behind it, prepared to reopen.

A Black Lives Matter memorial decorates the Santa Monica Beach Friday, June 5, 2020 during a paddle-out ceremony for George Floyd and other victims of police violence. Paddle-outs are a surfer tradition to honor and memorialize members of the surfer community who have died.

Hundreds of protesters are fenced out from a candlelight vigil for George Floyd hosted by the LAPD at their headquarters Friday, June 5, 2020.

Protesters demand answers from LAPD chief Michel Moore, right, after Moore held a candlelight vigil for George Floyd that most protesters ignored Friday, June 5, 2020.

Pallbearers carry one of four empty caskets from a hearse during a memorial procession for victims of police violence, held in solidarity with the public viewing for George Floyd in Houston, Floyd's hometown, Monday, June 8, 2020. Floyd was laid to rest in a televised private funeral service in Houston the following day. (Jintak Han/Daily Bruin)