Hundreds took to City Heights area streets calling for greater law enforcement transparency following the example of protests over the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore and other “BlackLivesMatter” protests in recent months.
“We demand justice for Freddie Gray,” one protester declared according to 10 News. “You must police your own, because if we don’t control our own community that gives them the right to,” Marine Sgt. Damonique Allen reportedly heralded while directing protestors.
San Diego Police officers on bicycles calmly monitored the situation along the way, reported Team 10. No arrests were noted in the report.
The City Heights area has held a number of “BlackLivesMatter” protests in the weeks and months following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Protester-blocked freeways, violence, and arrests throughout San Diego have frequently marked these public disturbances. Some of the attempts to organize protests in the area have fallen flat.
Similar protests in New York Wednesday night saw at least 60 arrested.
San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood has experienced troubles for years, at one time leading public officials to declare a “state of emergency” due to area crime. It is has also been home to individuals charged in crimes associated with the terrorist groups ISIS in Syria and al-Shabaab in Somalia.
Last November, KPBS reported on the extremely high infusion of non-profit cash in the “largely immigrant and refugee community.” Despite hundreds of millions invested through just two foundations in the area, little appears to have improved. Crime, high school dropout, health, and income reportedly rated far worse than the rest of the country on several measures.
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