TOLEDO, Ohio — This live blog will be continually updated with events Monday.
People in parts of northwest Ohio again plan demonstrations Monday, and officials have news conferences planned to discuss the weekend's protests that took place across the region.
The protests started Saturday, spurred by the video of George Floyd, who died in Minnesota police custody after an officer knelt on his neck for about nine minutes while detaining him. That now-fired officer has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter; three other officers were fired but have not been charged.
The protest Saturday wasn't about the singular George Floyd incident, however. Demonstrators rallied to draw attention to issues with chronic police brutality directed at blacks. That rally turned violent late Saturday afternoon and protesters and police clashed. A curfew ensued for parts of the downtown.
Sunday's tone was more peaceful, with an hours-long march and demonstrations through west Toledo and Ottawa Hills.
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MONDAY
MANY ATTEND PROTEST IN SOUTH TOLEDO ADDRESSING TPD AND MAYOR
During the third day of protesting in Toledo, several dozen protesters lined up in front of a Dollar Tree in south Toledo in the name of George Floyd.
The protest was organized by known local activist Sir Major Page.
"This is what democracy and solidarity looks like," along with chants for change and justice could be heard from the crowd.
The purpose of the protest wasn't only to highlight the killing of Floyd, but to also address Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and the Toledo Police Department's treatment towards protesters over the weekend.
One protester speaking with a megaphone claimed that TPD officers shot rubber and wooden bullets at protesters as young as nine years old over the weekend and caused several serious injuries and hospitalizations.
"Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, that falls on your shoulders too. You are the leader of this city, act like it," the protester said.
As time went on, the crowd continued to grow.
MAYOR KAPSZUKIEWICZ, CHIEF KRAL DISCUSS NEXT STEPS
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and Toledo Police Chief George Kral spoke Monday regarding the protests in the name of George Floyd in downtown Toledo that turned violent on Saturday.
The mayor updated on the events of the weekend, saying he wanted to talk about moving forward as a community and said in general, Toledo did "pretty well" this weekend when compared with the level of violence that has hit other communities as a result of George Floyd protests.
He noted, though, that instances of police misconduct were reported and he is asking citizens to help the city understand better what happened on Saturday, as peaceful protests turned violent around 4 p.m.
The mayor said he knows there are stories on both sides and wants to review everything that occurred. He said he wants to hear from residents to help the city reconstruct the events of Saturday to help them understand better what happened.
The email address to send concerns is TPDconcerns@toledo.oh.gov and residents can also go to the Engage Toledo app to give input about what they saw. The city's safety director, Karen Poore, will be taking the comments.
Bellow is the mayor's full statement:
"Today, I was joined by Chief George Kral to discuss the events of this weekend and to take the initial steps for our city to move forward and to be better. Toledo had a rough night on Saturday, but when you compare what happened here to what is happening in so many other American cities right now, I know that things could have been a lot worse.
The reason we were able to avoid the worst of what other cities are experiencing is because Toledo has a good Police Department and good citizens. More often than not, we get things right in Toledo – but we know we can be even better.
The peaceful protests of this weekend were welcomed and an important part of our political process. I heard you. I saw you. I joined you.
However, what happened to change the peaceful nature of these events must be examined. Of course I have seen social media reports. I am asking citizens who have opinions about what they saw on Saturday to submit them in writing to my office for review and investigation. You can submit your first-hand account and photographs or videos to TPDconcerns@toledo.oh.gov or by going to the Engage Toledo app.
As we work to continue to build trust and promote accountability on policing, I announced several reforms that will be implemented to increase the transparency on which healthy police-community relations is based.
I am committed to improvements being made to the Civilian Police Review Board. All current members' terms will expire in the next 30 days. I am seeking resumes of those who wish to be considered for appointment to this board and want to help us make positive changes. Email your interest to TPDconcerns@toledo.oh.gov.
In addition, I announced today that the Internal Affairs Department of Toledo Police will be moved from the Safety Building to a neutral location. This will allow those who want to make a complaint against the police more comfortable in doing so. We are also going to give the public access to the training we offer our officers on sensitivity and diversity and de-escalation tactics.
Finally, I have placed a link on the City of Toledo website that has the Toledo Police Department operations manual, recent community survey, the Bias Free Policing Review, Use of Force continuum, and much more.
Thank you, Toledo, for your care and concern for what is happening in our country right now. Thank you for peacefully using your voices toward a better world for all of us."
RELATED: Toledo mayor, police chief seek citizens' input to reconstruct protest events from Saturday
ARREST/DAMAGE UPDATE
In a news conference Saturday night, Kapszukiewicz had said he was led to believe that many of the bad actors in the violence were not from the community. On Monday, the names and hometowns of the 22 people arrested were released, and of the 22 people, 21 of them were from Toledo, with one person from Cleveland.
"There were not a lot of outsiders arrested, but that does not mean there were not a lot of outsiders who were instigating," Kapszukiewicz said. "I'm aware I'm falling into a stereotype when I go down this road. There is evidence that there was an unusual number of outside influences in this protest. There was an Antifa presence, which is unusual for our city. Here in Toledo ... perhaps they weren't caught."
Arrested were:
- Tyelmera Flunder, Toledo; charge of assault
- Kashaen Hines-Hamilton, Toledo; charges of aggravated riot/aggravated robbery
- Dana Black, Toledo; charges of assault, criminal damage, menacing
- Stephon Griffin, Toledo; charges of aggravated riot
- Shereese Martin, Toledo; charges of disorderly conduct
- William Eskridge, Toledo; charges of disorderly conduct/assault
- Kenneth Gist, Toledo, charges of disorderly conduct
- Shannon Kelly, Toledo; charges of disorderly conduct, criminal trespass
- Joseph Fowler, Toledo; charge of disorderly conduct intoxication
- Rozelle Denwiddie, Toledo; charge of obstruction
- Thomas Savage, Toledo; charge of failure to disperse
- Aundra Parnell, Jr., Toledo; charge of failure to disperse
- Keith Nelson, Toledo; charge of failure to disperse
- Miracle Darrington, Toledo; charge of failure to disperse
- Valerie Pedreschi, Toledo; charge of failure to disperse
- Keli Boone, Toledo; charge of failure to disperse
- Javon Morgan, Toledo; charge of failure to disperse
- Maurice Wright, Toledo; charge of failure to disperse, failure to obey order of police
- Timothy Johnson, Toledo; charge of failure to disperse
- Brian Wilson, Toledo; charge of breaking & entering
- Vaughtlen Gray, Toledo; charge of failure to obey police order, reckless operation
- Tyreik Boyd, Cleveland; charges of walking along highway, obstructing, resisting
The list of businesses that were damaged Saturday night also was updated. Damaged were:
- Ohio Building
- Woolworth's Building
- Deet's BBQ
- attendant parking lot booth on St. Clair and Madison
- 300 Madison
- HCR Manor Care
- Summit Street Parking Garage portico
- One Lake Erie Center
- Huntington Center
- former Key Bank branch
- Huntington Bank
- Nasby Building
- Spitzer Building
- Nicholas Building
- Louisville Title Building
- TARTA Park Station building
- Bell Building
- KWIK parking lot booth/equipment
- Paramount parking lot pay station
- Lasalle Building
- 401 Superior Building (former Subway)
- TPPA Hall
- three police vehicles
- Alexis Park Shopping Center (Target store, beauty shop)
FINDLAY PROTEST CANCELED DUE TO SAFETY CONCERN
The Findlay protest was canceled just hours before by it was set to begin after its organizer said she received a number of violent threats.
However, despite the demonstration's official cancellation, a small crowd still gathered in the city's downtown to speak out against racism and police brutality.
As of noon, the scene was peaceful as speakers stood up in the crowd to share their stories. A police officer could even be seen shaking hands with a number of protesters in solidarity, asking what he could do to help.
While the reported threats may have deterred some from coming out Monday, a second official protest in the city is allegedly in the works for Tuesday.
TPD RESPONDS TO POLICE MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS
After Saturday's peaceful protest to highlight racial inequalities and systemic racism black people face regarding police interactions turned violent, reports of officer misconduct flooded in on social media. Toledo police on Monday responded to these reports, saying, it's possible officer misconduct occurred and all formal complaints will be investigated.
TPD also noted that officers themselves had rocks, bricks, fireworks, eggs and more thrown at them Saturday, and tensions were high from some people on all sides. TPD also said that complaints can be filed at Toledo.Police@toledo.oh.gov and the department will also be posting images of people they are trying to identify in relation to the violence that took place Saturday night.
A news conference is set for 2 p.m. with Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and Police Chief George Kral. WTOL will stream the news conference on our website and app and on Facebook Live.