Jason Delgado
Tallahassee protesters clashed with law enforcement Saturday during a demonstration outside of the Florida Historic Capitol.
The demonstration was held in protest of a grand jury decision that deemed Tallahassee police officers acted lawfully in the fatal shootings of Mychael Johnson, Tony McDade and Wilbon Woodard. It was organized by two local activist groups, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) and Dream Defenders.
The groups intended to caravan by car and foot to the Florida Capitol and held a rally beforehand among each other. A traffic stop near their destination, however, led to a confrontation between protesters and police.
“This is war,” activist Tesia Libson told protesters earlier in the day. “We are not standing down anymore.”
Tensions among the group reached a boiling point when police stopped Trish Brown, a local activist who was driving the lead vehicle, for driving too slow. In a video, an officer can be heard telling Brown she’s “impeding the flow of traffic.”
While officers continued with Brown, protesters began circling the car and demanding law enforcement let her go. Things continued smoothly until officers told Brown to step out of the car. Protesters then rushed the vehicle and one clung onto Brown’s arm as law enforcement tried to remove her.
The confrontation led to several protesters being brought to the ground by police and placed in handcuffs. Simultaneously, law enforcement from at least three other agencies appeared in riot gear. As protesters began locking arms and sitting on the ground, police could be heard on a megaphone declaring the demonstration to be an unlawful assembly.
The protesters later gathered at a nearby parking lot where they discussed ways to bail out fellow members.
The Tallahassee Democrat reported at least 15 were arrested during the incident.
Paul Woolley and his brother, Peter Woolley, attended the demonstration as members of Dream Defenders. The group aims to “confront systemic inequality by building our collective power,” according to their bio.
“It felt like a bullying session,” Peter Wooley said. “In the wake of what’s everything going on and the B.S. verdict that was reached, we feel like they’re going against everything that we’re standing for. We do not stand down, we stand up.”
Ahead of the grand jury decision, Leon County Chairman Bryan Desloge declared a state of emergency and issued a curfew citing “civil unrest.” The order was requested by Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeill in an effort to prevent further violence and unrest, a news release said.
The proclamation cited an incident that occurred Saturday when a white man who was attacked during a Black Lives Matter protest drew a firearm on protesters. The armed man was arrested at gunpoint without incident and the investigation remains ongoing.
Peter Wooley said the tension between minority groups and the Tallahassee Police Department is nothing new. He added that Saturday’s incident only reinforces the groups’ beliefs.
“We want more attention to be brought to the light,” he said. “Screw TPD. Cleary they don’t give a s*** about us. We’re going over State Attorney Jack Campbell and Police Chief Lawrence Revell. We’re over them. It’s a big problem clearly rooted in Tallahassee.”
