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Small groups of protesters in Oakland, San Jose — and in the tiny city of Clayton, in Contra Costa County — challenged nighttime curfew orders as darkness descended on the Bay Area Tuesday, after a day that saw large, mostly peaceful marches in those cities, as well as in Fremont, Redwood City and San Francisco.
Curfew orders have been imposed throughout the Bay Area — and across the country — in response to widespread protests that have at times turned violent, with police officers firing tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets at demonstrators, and with some marchers turning to looting and starting fires. In Oakland, San Francisco, Walnut Creek and beyond, stores have been hit by looters who descended on boarded-up shops amid the chaos of protests in recent days.
The nighttime confrontation Tuesday came after several days of national demonstrations against racism and police violence toward black people nationally, most recently in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, by a police officer who knelt on his neck for 8 minutes, and of Breonna Taylor, a black ER technician who was shot to death in her home in Louisville by police offers who forced their way in with a “no-knock” warrant.
In Fremont, C.J. Reed, a 19-year-old African American man from Newark, said he attended Tuesday’s march to protest against police brutality, unjustified searches, and the experience of being profiled “for just looking black,” he said.
“This has been a long time coming for black people and colored people all over the Bay Area, the United States, all over the world, really,” Reed said.
In Contra Costa County, demonstrators met in Concord, at the corner of the busy intersection of Ygnacio Valley and Clayton roads at about 4 p.m., according to Tamara Thole Steiner, a longtime resident of Clayton who is the editor and publisher of the Clayton and Pioneer newspapers.
The demonstrators made their way east on Clayton Road, traveling about a mile past some shopping centers and suburban developments, eventually making it to downtown Clayton, a picturesque town of about 12,000 residents nestled at the base of Mount Diablo. Some residents joined the demonstrators along the way, Steiner said.
Waiting for the peaceful marchers in the town’s three-block-long downtown were officers from the Clayton Police Department, as well as Contra Costa County Sheriff’s deputies and officers from the Concord and Moraga police departments. About 200 to 300 marchers faced-off with the officers at the west end of Main Street, near the town’s Veterans of Foreign War Memorial, Steiner said.
“Nobody wanted a confrontation,” Steiner said. “It was a standard protest. They shouted things at the police but nobody made a move. And no one wanted to start trouble.”
Officers seemed tense, Steiner said and at some point, a Clayton police officer told protesters they needed to disperse because of the town’s curfew — earlier Monday, Contra Costa County imposed an 8 p.m. curfew. Though most demonstrators began dispersing, about a quarter of the original crowd remained at the scene when, 30 minutes later, law enforcement lobbed a tear gas canister at the crowd, Steiner said, hitting protesters including herself and a 17-year-old high school student who was sickened and began vomiting because of the gas.
It was not clear whether any arrests were made. The Clayton police chief is scheduled to address the incident Wednesday morning.
In Oakland — where marches this weekend ended with police firing tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets at marchers — the resolution of Tuesday’s marches was far more peaceful, As dusk settled, some demonstrators had begun passing out “tear gas kits” while others urged their fellow marchers to go home as Alameda County’s 8 p.m. curfew took effect.
More than 50 people continued demonstrating in the intersection of Broadway and 8th Street for nearly two hours after curfew. They gave speeches, chanted and called for the heavily armed officers lined up on one side of the intersection to put down their weapons. Oakland police officers were joined by about two dozen sheriffs deputies from Kings County.
Just before 10 p.m., a police loudspeaker thanked demonstrators for their peaceful protest and told them to leave the intersection. Almost all protesters complied, and within minutes Oakland police officers and the visiting sheriffs deputies had also left.
There did not appear to be any arrests made.
In San Jose, where clashes between demonstrators and police officers have also turned violent on previous nights, several hundred marchers remained at city hall as the city’s 8:30 p.m. curfew went into effect, seemingly ready to defy the order. A 23-year-old San Jose resident who asked to be identified as K.C. said that she brought saline, medical tape and gauze in preparation for clashes with law enforcement. Over the last few days, she watched videos of police tear-gassing and shooting rubber bullets at local crowds.
“That’s why I have all this stuff. They’re going to f— people up,” she said of the San Jose Police Department officers.
But as the day’s heat wore off, the 200 or so protesters — a few decked out in helmets and gas masks — marched first to Plaza de Cesar Chavez before making a big loop around downtown, chanting along to honking cars and bicyclists popping wheelies. Police vehicles blocked the entrance to Highway 280 and followed along the outer edge of the group, occasionally sounding a siren.
“Go home, or you’ll be arrested,” an officer called out to demonstrators.
“Please,” a young man responded, kneeling in front of the officers. “Please, we just want to be heard.”
Not everyone was ready for a confrontation. Yusuf Zaffarulla, 23, said he came out for the afternoon to show solidarity, but would probably head home before curfew.
“I can’t afford to get arrested right now,” he said.
The city announced Tuesday it would end its 8:30 p.m. curfew order on Thursday morning, with some council members saying the order was needlessly antagonizing residents and the police chief pointing out that violence at protests in the city had declined since Friday.
About 50 protesters and police officers faced off for about 10 minutes — mostly in silence — before fficers began moving toward the group, shouting, “Move! Move!” as they pushed forward, firing a round of rubber bullets. A handful of people were detained, but by then the bulk of the crowd — which numbered in the hundreds earlier in the day — had almost entirely disappeared.
Other marches ended earlier, with protesters in Redwood City heading home before San Mateo County’s 8:30 p.m. curfew, and demonstrators in Fremont likewise clearing out as night approached.
Reporters Aldo Toledo, Joseph Geha and George Kelly contributed to this report
