Hundreds protest against police brutality in march from Wright Park to Tacoma’s North End
UPDATE 10:15 p.m.: The group, which has remained peaceful all day, is now walking on Sprague, headed toward state Route 16 on-ramps. They are accompanied by civilian vehicles.
UPDATE 9:45 p.m.: Protesters have now made their way to Sprague and Sixth Avenues.
UPDATE 7:45 p.m.: The march returned to downtown where it has split into two groups with about 100 people each. One group is headed south over the Delin Street Bridge. The other is at South 21st Street and Pacific Avenue. Both groups are calm and peaceful, according to Tacoma police.
Drivers have been understanding of traffic blockages, according to Tacoma police spokeswoman Wendy Haddow.
UPDATE 4 p.m.: The march is now in the roadway of Schuster Parkway and headed south toward downtown Tacoma.
A student-organized protest against police brutality filled Wright Park with hundreds of people Monday afternoon. Later, the group marched to Old Town Tacoma.
Along the way, members of the group laid down in a street while chanting the name of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis a week ago after a white police office knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
The event is a response to Floyd’s death, which led to other protests across the country, which in turn were followed by riots and looting, including in Seattle on Saturday.
A protest and march Saturday in Tacoma was peaceful.
Monday’s protest was originally scheduled for Peoples Park on Tacoma’s Hilltop but was moved to Wright Park at the request of community leaders.
Some businesses in the area closed early on Monday in advance of the protest.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 4:19 PM.
