Expand / Collapse search
☰

Detroit prepares for fifth night of police brutality protests, hopes for another night of peace

Published  June 2, 2020 5:33pm EDT
Black Lives Matter Movement
FOX 2 Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The City of Detroit is about to have its fifth straight night of protests against police brutality but the police department is encouraged by Monday night's protests that ended peacefully.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan called the protesters who helped stop destruction 'a message of Detroit pride'

"It was strong Detroiters who stood up and over and over and said, we're not doing that," he said.

Monday night, there were 40 people arrested, 16 of which were from Detroit. Since the protests started Friday, there have been about 300 total arrests.

Also on Monday, there was no tear gas deployed, no pepper spray used, and no rubber bullets were fired.

Among them on Monday was Stefan Perez who was committed to keeping the people with him, safe.

Protesters gally for fifth straight night in Detroit

Leaders of the City of Detroit say Monday night's protest was peaceful and they're hoping for more of the same on Tuesday.

"All I gotta say is I want to make sure I lead my people walking. That's all that matters. If they're with me, they're with me. If they're not, I understand. At the same time, I can't have a guilty conscious and I'm going to carry out as many people as I can," Perez said.

RELATED: ‘I kneeled’: During raucous protest, Detroit police deputy chief kneels with protesters

Trey Little told FOX 2 that Detroit should be a sign for other cities about what happens when you destroy - and have to rebuild.

"It feels so good to be the most slept on city in the country, almost in the world, to basically be setting another example because we've already destroyed our city before and we know what that looks like and now we're trying to rebuild," Trey Little

Outside Detroit Public Safety Headquarters on Tuesday, the crowd was growing as they prepared to march through the city to protest police brutality.

Tuesday's protest is officially organized by the group By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), which in some ways encourages destructive demonstrations.

Nicole Conaway with BAMN said while she doesn't expect to set anything on fire during Tuesday's protest, she did say that the destruction isn't worth more than someone's life.

"I would say anything that burns, that windows get broken, no property is worth more than any human life, ever," Conaway said.

She said they would not condemn anyone for creating chaos, burning things, or throwing things at police and called the possibility of violence a "necessary evil".