Citywide Curfew In Effect After Clematis Street Protests

By Destiny Harris

The Mayor of West Palm Beach refutes allegations that police officers instigated a confrontation on Clematis street Sunday night. After peaceful demonstrations turned into destructive attacks and looting, the mayor called for a state of local emergency and curfew. 

Nationwide protests against police violence and systemic racism resulted from the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis last week. Now the former officer, Derek Chauvin, faces charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

Less than 100 out of the estimated 3,000 peaceful demonstrators were deemed as “agitators” who threw rocks at police officers after the downtown area cleared out around 7:30 p.m. according to WFLA. 

The crowd scattered to the nearby railroad tracks when Assistant Police Chief Richard Moris called the mayor and asked for a curfew as the violence began. 

Police Chief Frank Adderley said many of the “agitators” were not West Palm Beach residents but were residents from Miami-Dade and Broward County, and at least one person was from the Gainesville area. 

At least five arrests were made, one is a juvenile. All are facing charges from aggravated assault to inciting riots to resisting arrest. 

Storefronts along Clematis Street and the Palm Beach Outlets were damaged due to the violence that ensued that night. 

In addition, to the city curfew, a stretch of I-95 was shut down for safety reasons after protestors wanted the area to shut it down. When the night had ended, police witnessed damage at Best Buy and Target off Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.