Chicago Protesters Rally Near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Home After Clashes With the Police

Chicago protesters gathered near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s home on Saturday, to protest against violent clashes with the police officer during protests on Friday, CNN affiliate WLS reports.

The clash with the police involves some groups of people that gathered for a protest last Friday in Grant Park and tried to bring down the statue of Christopher Columbus.

Police Officers interfered in the protest to providing security and protecting their First Amendment right to peaceful assembly, but the protesters used rocks, fireworks, frozen bottles, and other harmful objects to attack the officers, leaving 18 police officers injured, according to a statement released by the Chicago police department.

Some of the officers were taken to the hospital for treatment while others were treated at the attack scene.

However, at a news conference on Saturday, activists demanded the immediate defunding of the police department.

“We have a right to freedom of assembly. We have a right to protest. What happened yesterday was a travesty. That’s what happens in dictatorships,” Aislinn Pulley with Black Lives Matter Chicago said, adding that she saw people beaten by police officers using tear gas.

Amika Tendaji, another member of Black Lives Matter Chicago, said, “We cannot bodycam our way out of this. We cannot do any kind of reforms to get those people to act with humanity. They must be defunded.”

According to the statement released by the police department, about 12 people were arrested and could potentially face charges that may include a battery to a police officer, mob action, and other felonies, according to the statement.

Furthermore, at the news conference, State Sen. Robert Peters also called for reform.

“We must get police out of our communities and invest in housing, schools, social services, grocery stores,” he said. “That is what lifts our communities.”

There were several reports of excessive force by the police, confirmed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

A veteran Chicago Police officer described the incident on Friday between the police officers and the protesters. He said, “I have 17 years on this job. Last night was another example of how our leaders have let the radicals take over. We were outnumbered and unprepared once again. The initial officers on the scene had no helmets or shields. Coppers were getting pelted with rocks, sticks, bottles, and then shot with fireworks.”

“The lack of leadership has already gotten dozens of officers hurt,” the veteran officer told CNN. “If the police aren’t allowed to do what is needed, we will be burying one of our own”

“Three officers violently attacked by protesters crossing the Brooklyn Bridge,” the department said on its verified Twitter page. “The officers sustained serious injuries. This is not a peaceful protest, and this will not be tolerated.”

More so, protesters gathered on Saturday night near Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Logan Square home to protest the city’s handling of the clash between police and activists.

A woman from the about 200 protesters declared she joined the protest to stand in solidarity to fight against oppression.

“I’m tired of being a person of color, overeducated, and having to wake up every day and watch the patterns and habits of … ignorance that is swallowing our lives,” she said.

Mayor Lightfoot described the reports of excessive force as unacceptable in a statement. He reprimanded some of the protest participants, who she said come with cans and water bottles to throw at officers.