Black Lives Matter protests in Minnesota turned violent on Sunday sending one cop to the hospital and resulting in the arrest of more than 100 protesters.
The protests were sparked by the shooting death of Philando Castile by a police officer on Wednesday.
Demonstrators blocked off part of Interstate 94 and around 10 p.m. police, donned in riot gear, asked the crowd to leave for the 16th time, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
The crowd hit police with glass, bricks, rocks , concrete, Molotov cocktails and firecrackers until officers were forced to respond with tear gas and pepper spray, according to KARE. The St. Paul Police Department was also keeping up on social media with the riots.
An officer has been hit in the head with a rock. Unclear the extent of injuries. #I94closed
— St. Paul Police PIO (@sppdPIO) July 10, 2016
One of the officers, who reportedly had a concrete block dropped on his head, suffered a spinal fracture.
Another officer hit in the head with a large piece of concrete, possibly dropped from bridge. #I94closed
— St. Paul Police PIO (@sppdPIO) July 10, 2016
We were just informed that the officer who had a concrete block dropped on his head during I-94 riot has broken vertebrae.
— St. Paul Police PIO (@sppdPIO) July 10, 2016
Social media has been filled with those who say the police are over-reacting with riot gear and other means to protect themselves. But there was at least one tweet that put it all in perspective.
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) July 11, 2016
St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell provided the following statment:
“Last night, really was the first time in my 28 years as a police officer, that I had observed the level of violence that was directed towards public servants,” said St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell in a press conference on Sunday morning. “It’s really a disgrace. Protesters last night turned into criminals. I’m absolutely disgusted by the actions of some. We will not tolerate it.”
Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, called the actions disrespectful to the memory of her son and called for peace in a statement.
“On behalf of myself and our entire family, we urge all people to remain peaceful in all demonstrations throughout our community and our nation. When demonstrations become violent, it disrespects my son and his memory. Philando was a man of peace and dignity. Please, I ask you to at all times remain peaceful in your expressions of concern regarding his death at the hands of the police. I promise that we will not rest until justice prevails,” she said.
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