Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles as protestors and police clashed during a protest Saturday. Earlier in the afternoon, LAPD police cars were set on fire and vandalized near the CBS Television City on Fairfax Ave. and 3rd Street.
Hoards of protesters took to the streets to show their disapproval of the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man killed after a police officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes. Although the protest began as a peaceful march through the Beverly Hills area, by the afternoon, tensions ran high as LAPD police officers stopped protestors from moving forward.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti called for a curfew for downtown LA late Saturday afternoon but later extended the curfew to the entire city of LA— Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Pasadena and Culver City shortly following.
At 7 p.m. Garcetti tweeted, “The curfew has been expanded to the entire city to keep Angelenos safe. People in the City of Los Angeles are required to stay indoors tonight, starting at 8 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning” and a phone alert shortly followed this announcement.
According to a tweet from the Los Angeles County’s Sheriff Department, Sheriff Alex Villanueva has requested “limited activation of the national guard” following a request for the troops’ assistance from Garcetti.
During a briefing this afternoon, the LA mayor urged for peace from protestors.
“When the violence escalates, no one wins,” Garcetti said. “So everybody has to be responsible for owning this moment.”
