Hundreds of students march in downtown Santa Rosa to protest death of George Floyd

Hundreds of students marched in downtown Santa Rosa Monday afternoon, expressing anger and sadness after George Floyd died in police custody last week in Minneapolis.

The peaceful rally, which started at noon and lasted about four hours, was held in solidarity with others in about 80 cities from coast to coast.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer held him face down on the street and pressed his knee into the back of his neck for several minutes, even after Floyd cried out, “I can't breathe.”

Monday marked the third day of demonstrating in Santa Rosa. The afternoon protest with up to an estimated 300 people at its peak was organized by 18-year-old Joy Ayodele, and was geared toward young people.

“I wanted to see a youth-led protest,” Ayodele said. “Today, I went out with the goal of (people) would hear us, they would care.”

The group marched from Old Courthouse Square to the Santa Rosa police station, then to Santa Rosa Junior College before circling back downtown. The crowd chanted phrases such as, “Black Lives Matter” and “No justice, no peace.” Many also had signs that said, “I can't breathe,” which were some of Floyd's last words.

Protesters kneeled in the middle of several intersections and held a moment of silence, before chanting “What was his name? George Floyd.” Many cars stopped at these intersections honked their horns in solidarity, with some passengers holding signs out their windows.

“I'm angry. I think a lot of us are angry,” said Lauren McCabe, a 17-year-old from Larkfield who participated. “This isn't, obviously, the first time this has happened.”

When protesters gathered in the intersection of Mendocino and College Avenues, a young black boy stood up through a car's sunroof with his fist in the air to show his support, prompting loud applause and cheers from the crowd of protesters.

While Derek Chauvin, the fired police officer who pressed his knee into Floyd's neck prior to his death, was arrested Friday on suspicion of third-degree murder, the three other fired officers who were taking Floyd into custody have not been charged. Ayodele said she will hold another protest next week if the three officers aren't arrested.

“I hope they're held accountable for their actions,” Ayodele said.

At one point during the peaceful march, a truck driver had to stop with protesters on the street. The driver later told Santa Rosa police that he thought some teens were pulling items from the back of his truck, and when he told them to stop, he was hit in the head with a skateboard, said Sgt. Chris Mahurin. The driver then grabbed the barrel of a shotgun - there was no trigger and it was not a functioning gun - and held it up in the air and told the teens he could defend himself, Mahurin said.

Many protesters in the crowd screamed and ran away, thinking the driver was pointing a functioning gun at them. The man got back in his car and drove off.

The driver, who was bleeding from a head wound, told police he did not want to press charges against the youth who hit him. The teens denied hitting the man with a skateboard and told officers they did not see anyone take items from the driver's truck, Mahurin said.

The mostly teens continued marching downtown after that incident, and the rally eventually ended in Old Courthouse Square.

“We need to stand up for our rights,” 15-year-old Asha Shears said. “It's just time.”

Editor's note: This story was updated with new information from Santa Rosa Police Tuesday morning about a confrontation Monday between male protesters and a passing truck driver who got caught in the demonstration.

You can reach Staff Writer Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337 or chantelle.lee@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ChantelleHLee.