Several hundred march in Manchester to protest death of George Floyd
2 taken into custody after altercation with protesters who gathered later outside police station
2 taken into custody after altercation with protesters who gathered later outside police station
2 taken into custody after altercation with protesters who gathered later outside police station
Several hundred people marched in downtown Manchester on Saturday morning, calling for justice in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis this week after a white police officer pinned Floyd's neck with his knee.
The march began at Veterans Park, continued along Elm Street and ended back at the park. Police shut down Elm and Chestnut streets for the march.
Protesters chanted “black lives matter” and “hands up, don’t shoot.”
"We're losing black lives constantly to police brutality and racism. Constantly. It's not one incident. It's not two incidents. It's constant, and we're exhausted," said Tyrell Whitted, one of the protest's organizers.
While violence has erupted elsewhere in the U.S., the protest in Manchester was peaceful. Some of protesters said they're afraid people of color in every city could be targets.
"Things haven't escalated to where they have in other places like Minneapolis, Ferguson, Baltimore quite yet. But we understand, we know that if things keep going along this path that they are going along here, then we could easily end up the next Minneapolis. We could easily end up the next hashtag," said organizer Ronelle Tshiela.
"We're trying to be as peaceful as we can, but we're tired. We're tired of seeing our black brothers and sisters being killed senselessly," added organizer Elijah Kendrick.
Organizers said they're demanding justice not just for Floyd.
"Everybody needs to come together and support us. Support our movement. Support Black Lives Matter. We don't want to hear 'all lives matter.' We want to hear 'black lives matter.'" said Kendrick.
In a statement, Gov. Chris Sununu said: “This morning I called the organizers ahead of the George Floyd March in Manchester to let them know the State of New Hampshire stands with them in their calls for justice. This important conversation must continue and we must constructively work together as a nation to ensure there is change."
After the protest, a smaller group marched to the Manchester Police Department.
About 1:30 p.m., police said a truck drove up and the people inside got into an argument with protesters. In a nearby parking lot, one person got out of the truck and displayed a gun, police said. That person as well another in truck -- later identified as 43-year-old Scott Kimball and 19-year-old Mark Kimball -- were both arrested and charged with felony riot and felony criminal threatening.