A car caravan drove from the Liberty Station shopping center to nearby residential neighborhoods in Point Loma today in a demonstration against police brutality following the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Monday.
The caravan was organized by the Racial Justice Coalition San Diego, according to the group's spokesman, Yusef Miller. The coalition is made up of a collection of organizations and activist groups.
The protest came one day after the coalition held a virtual news conference to demand the end of neck restraint holds in San Diego County. That news conference was cut short when zoom bombers broke into the online meeting, spouting racial epithets.
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Miller said the caravan was peaceful and he declared it a success. "It was a peaceful protest," Miller said. "We told people not to get out of their cars. Many residents came out in support of us, cheering us on. It was just wonderful."
As San Diego Police Department officers watched from sidewalks, the group drove around the shopping center and into a nearby residential neighborhood trying to make its way to San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer's home to deliver a message.
Some of the estimated 75 cars carried signs posted on windows saying "Black Lives Matter" and "I can't breathe." One car had "George" painted on its side.
The group wanted to visit Faulconer's home to ask for a ban on police chokeholds during arrests. But officers had barricaded the street leading to Faulconer's home.
Miller said he wanted to tell the mayor to remove all neck-restraint policies by the police.
"This is a critical issue that needs to be addressed," Miller said. "We've asked the City Council, the major, the police chief, and they all told us 'No'."
Miller said the coalition is planning to hold other events later.
The caravan protest was also held to demand justice for Floyd, who died Monday after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white Minneapolis Police Department officer, Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee on the 46-year-old man's neck for several minutes while three other officers looked on.
Video footage of the arrest, in which Floyd is heard saying, "I can't breathe," spread widely online, and all four officers were fired.
Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter on Friday.
