On June 25, there had been protests in the whole of Arizona for five weeks. Hundreds of protesters held a massive rally on May 28, where the police used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the large crowds. Police made allegations that the protesters destroyed the Arizona Federal theater’s windows and doors and some government buildings at Phoenix. The protesters damaged parked cars and also several private and municipal businesses.
Later on May 29, a separate protest was arranged in honor of Dion Johnson, a 28-year-old man who had been shot and killed by a DPS Trooper on May 25. The rally was scheduled to be held outside the Arizona department for public safety. Hundreds of protesters were seen march for almost two miles towards the Phoenix police department headquarters. The police later dispersed the protesters by using if tear gas.
On May 30 evening, the protesters returned to Downtown Phoenix and made further protests at several locations. The protesters damaged property as others painted messages of solidarity on buildings and other surfaces around the Downtown area.
On May 31, Governor Doug Ducey instituted a statewide curfew, scheduled to start from 8 pm to 5 am. Police officers blocked all street exits and released tear gas to any crowds spotted. They justified their use of tear gas to deal with those who never respected the curfew.
The protesters were forced to flee into the nearby Garfield neighborhood after the police had blocked all street exits. As the officer made attempts to hunt them down, they assaulted non-protesting residential while on their property. These assaults included a woman who was on her front porch.
This made the newspapers to describe the police as aggressors in the night’s violence. Hundreds were arrested as thousands continued to gather for protests against the inappropriate use of force by law and police brutality on the subsequent days in early June.
