Police brutality protest in downtown Phoenix from The State Press on Vimeo.
Editor's Note: This video contains some explicit language.
Protesters chanted against police brutality through the streets of downtown Phoenix on Saturday night.
The protest began shortly after 8 p.m. and continued for hours into the night. Nearly 100 demonstrators walked down Central Avenue and throughout the downtown Phoenix area near the Downtown campus.
The protests follow the death of Michelle Cusseaux, whose funeral was held earlier Saturday.
Cusseaux was shot and killed by Phoenix Police Sgt. Percy Dupra in her apartment on Aug. 14. Cusseaux’s mother, Frances Garrett, called officers after Cusseaux, who has a history of mental illness, began wielding a hammer.
Cusseaux’s death came less than a week after officers in Ferguson, Missouri, shot and killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown. Brown’s shooting sparked large-scale protests in the St. Louis suburb and around the country, including efforts in Phoenix.
Phoenix Police Officer “B.J.” Baltzar was on his bike with the dozens of other officers assigned to keep an eye on the group.
Baltzar said the mob of protesters had broken some traffic laws and attempted to break some windows of nearby businesses.
Reach the reporter at jwilli62@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @JonWilliams_23
