Some violence, but California protests mostly peaceful

JOHN ANTCZAK

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) - National Guard troops reinforced police in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Vallejo after a second night of violence. That was among scattered incidents that stood in contrast to largely peaceful California protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Fifty members of the Guard arrived Tuesday after they were requested to "assist in securing locations that are considered high-risk," said statement from the city.

A person was shot by police when people began breaking into stores late Monday, and another round of violence erupted late Tuesday.

"A group of approximately 100 individuals armed with batteries and nearly 40 vehicles surrounded the Vallejo Police Department," the city said. "Additionally rocks and bottles thrown at PD units and a subject with a Molotov cocktail was observed."

The shooting occurred when a group that entered a Walgreens "rammed a VPD officer in their vehicle," City Manager Greg Nyhoff said in a statement that did not say whether the suspect survived.

Elsewhere, police cordons - in some cases backed by National Guard troops - kept a tight watch on marchers from San Francisco to Hollywood. But on Tuesday, the mood seemed far less tense. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and some police officers took a knee during a clergy-led demonstration outside police headquarters.

People marched up the Great Highway along San Francisco's Ocean Beach. At San Jose's City Hall, several hundred people showed up for a demonstration organized by the local branch of the NAACP.

Protesters held about nine minutes of silence in front of the state Capitol in Sacramento - approximately the amount of time that a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck.

Los Angeles County renewed its overnight curfew Wednesday, but it set a significantly shortened duration, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. instead of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. A county statement said it was assessing public safety needs on a daily basis. A few of the dozens of cities within the county maintained longer curfew hours.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 2,700 people had been arrested Los Angeles since the Floyd death protests began last week. Police Chief Michel Moore said about 2,500 of the arrests were for failure to disperse or curfew violations.

Authorities have credited the curfew and the arrival of more than 1,000 National Guard troops with significantly reducing vandalism and thefts. Officials have said organized gangs of thieves took advantage of the distraction of protests to hit dozens of businesses.

San Francisco Police Chief William Scott asked supervisors Tuesday to keep an overnight curfew order for at least the "next few days." He said burglars are organized, with vehicles waiting to ferry away people rushing out of stores with armloads of goods.

The Sacramento Police Department is investigating an officer shown on cellphone video using a carotid restraint on an 18-year-old man arrested following a sidewalk chase early Monday, The Sacramento Bee reported. The technique, which can cut off blood flow to the brain and render a person unconscious, has been banned by many departments but is allowed in Sacramento under certain conditions. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of looting and resisting arrest.

Oakland's interim police chief, Susan Manheimer, asked for video or other information on a shooting during Friday night's protest that killed a federal officer and injured another. The victims were guarding the U.S. courthouse. She said investigators believe the assailants were targeting law enforcement.

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Associated Press journalists Olga Rodriguez and Janie Har in San Francisco; Kathleen Ronayne, Cuneyt Dil and Adam Beam in Sacramento; and Christopher Weber and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.