PHOTOS: Witness 72 hours of rallies and rage on the streets of LA
Over those three days, the sounds of police sirens, distant helicopters, bursting fireworks, and blasts of rubber bullets backdropped afternoons of cell phones buzzing with emergency alerts.
By KCRW Staff • • 1 min readAs last week came to a close, Los Angeles was about to open up.
After months of COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants, barbershops, and retail shops, Mayor Eric Garcetti made a sudden announcement Friday that some eateries and businesses could reopen their doors to customers.
But 72 hours later, citywide curfews replaced the gentle lift of the quarantine.
Los Angeles was locked down under control of National Guard troops and police officers after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency order to quell widespread destruction as peaceful protests turned into looting. Hundreds of demonstrators decrying police violence — joining a national protest against the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer — were arrested Friday downtown in the shadow of City Hall. Skirmishes between officers and protesters in the Fairfax District Saturday left behind skeletons of burned police cars and broken storefront windows. Community members helped clean up the wreckage on Sunday as National Guard vehicles prowled the streets.
Over those three days, the sounds of police sirens, distant helicopters, bursting fireworks, and blasts of rubber bullets backdropped afternoons of cell phones buzzing with emergency alerts. For some, it was an echo of LA’s 1992 uprising; for others, an expression of anger.
Photojournalists and KCRW’s reporters witnessed the tension of those 72 hours of outrage firsthand, offering a snapshot of clashes on the streets of LA.