Detroit Police make 11 arrests in front of school bus terminal on 4th day of protests

Detroit Police made multiple arrests at a protest near a bus terminal where demonstrators were blocking transport vehicles from picking up students for classes on Thursday.

Chants of "let them go" rang as police led demonstrators away from the site. Dozens of people were seen circling as more police converged on the ABC Student Transportation lot. 

After initial arrests were made, tensions between protesters and police flared up to shouts. When a protester asked an officer what the individuals were charged with, an officer responded "with disorderly conduct and blockading a moving lane of traffic." Demonstrators retorted "there's no traffic here!"

As one protester was pointing fingers at an officer saying they were "complicit", more officers arrived to arrest her. An individual in a beige sweatshirt tried obstructing the scene and bumped into one of the arresting officers, which led to another officer pointing at her and saying "assault on a police officer."

As protesters were led away, others asked for their name and birth date, urging them not to resist.

After tensions at the scene calmed, several school buses were spotted leaving the depot.

"This is an act of brutality against the people of Detroit, against the students and communities," said teacher Benjamin Royal, "we are out here to prevent the spread of a deadly disease in our schools, to prevent that from spreading from the schools back into the community and that's why we're trying to shut the schools down, that's why we're trying to shut down the buses..."

While picketing the first three days took place at a bus depot on the city's west side on Greenfield, Thursday's demonstration shifted to 12680 Westwood, which is about two blocks south of Schoolcraft.

On the fourth day of protests against the start of summer schools, individuals sought to disrupt what they believed to be an unsafe start to the school year. They argued students and teachers attending in-person class were threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic by congregating in classrooms.

While the first three days of protests were peaceful, with a diminishing number of people appearing on site, Thursday's demonstration represents the newest escalation of tensions amid the protests.

A day before, activists like Royal filed a lawsuit to close the schools, hoping the courts would make the call. Thes uit demands the governor issue an executive order toclose all schools until science supports reopening. 

Protests have called for the resignation of the city's mayor and police chief, as well as the Detroit Public School district's superintendent.