Photo courtesy of Manny Pascua.
A group of protesters that included supporters of Feras Morad and Hector Morejon demonstrated in downtown Long Beach Saturday.
The planned demonstration, which lasted about four hours, was scheduled to begin at 11:30AM at Lincoln Park and included members of the local Black Lives Matter organization as well as family and friends of Morejon and Morad, each fatally shot by LBPD officers on two separate occasions this year.
Participants eventually took over the streets and confronted Long Beach police on Pine Avenue.
“Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) personnel continuously communicated with protest organizers on what could be expected, and to mitigate any potential issues that could arise,” according to LBPD spokeswoman Nancy Pratt. “We allowed the group ample time to express their First Amendment rights as they moved throughout various parts of the downtown area.”
No arrests were made.
The gathering followed a town hall Thursday night, June 11, with many high-ranking LBPD officials on hand to listen to resident concerns. Dozens of community members spoke out and questioned police tactics.
This story was updated on Monday, June 15, at 3:40PM with comments by the LBPD.