This is the terrifying moment a crowd of looters raid an Amazon delivery van in broad daylight in Santa Monica. Footage taken Sunday sh...
This is the terrifying moment a crowd of looters raid an Amazon delivery van in broad daylight in Santa Monica.
Footage taken Sunday shows as a group of people pull items from the back of the van, which was parked on residential street in the city.
The shocking clip came amid a weekend of violence, vandalism and arson following protests against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
Curfews expired early Monday as cities in the state assessed widespread damage. Officials in Santa Monica confirmed the curfew would be back in place Monday afternoon.
Recording the footage journalist Kyli Singh said: 'My heart is breaking. This @amazon prime truck was broken into on 5th and Broadway in #SantaMonica.
'This is theft, NOT protesting.'
Singh told DailyMail.com: 'The driver came to the scene after looting occurred and spoke with police. He swept the glass off and had to drive the van away.'
Footage taken Sunday shows as a group of people pull items from the back of the van
The shocking clip came amid a weekend of violence, vandalism and arson following protests against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody
The clip shows people break the windows of the van before opening its back doors and removing goods.
Singh added: 'I don’t have any words right now. I’m in shock.'
Unrest in Santa Monica happened not far from a peaceful demonstration near the city's famous pier as thieves targeted shops near the popular Third Street Promenade.
As protesters gathered in Long Beach, thieves swarmed nearby stores and carried away armloads of clothing. Some stopped to change into stolen items.
More than 400 people were arrested Sunday, Santa Monica Police Chief Cynthia Renaud said.
She said: 'So what we can glean from intelligence online is that there are opportunists who are tracking where peaceful protests are occurring, and they are then going to that city, knowing that resources will be tied up in ensuring First Amendment rights to free speech.
'They take advantage of that. And they loot and they perform criminal activity.'
Santa Monica Mayor Kevin McKeown said: 'Much was lost on Sunday, including property and innocence.
'As mayor, I'm grateful that we did not lose any lives. Our public safety officers showed professional restraint and resolve under the most difficult of circumstances.'
Unrest in Santa Monica happened not far from a peaceful demonstration near the city's famous pier as thieves targeted shops near the popular Third Street Promenade.
As protesters gathered in Long Beach, thieves swarmed nearby stores and carried away armloads of clothing. Some stopped to change into stolen items.
Thieves had smashed their way into stores across California — carrying away armloads of sneakers, clothes and electronics.
Armed members of the Guard protected Los Angeles City Hall on Sunday after upheaval in the nation's second-largest city and then rolled into suburban Santa Monica and Long Beach as throngs savaged businesses there.
Hundreds of people have been arrested during the disturbances that forced cities and counties to place millions of people under overnight curfews. In Los Angeles County, the tactic appeared to help quell trouble.
Neighboring San Bernardino County said it would imposed a curfew Monday evening after there was vandalism and thefts at businesses a day earlier.
In Sacramento, where no curfew was imposed, Sunday night brought more violence and destruction at businesses in the midtown area and near the Capitol after a largely peaceful daytime protest. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at those who ignored orders to leave.
Other violence statewide included an arm wound suffered by a gunshot victim in Walnut Creek.
And across the state, devastated shop owners cleaned up.
In Emeryville, across the bay from San Francisco, where thieves stormed malls late Saturday, Keyla Calderon swept up glass outside the medical scrubs shop Uniform Advantage.
Calderon's store had just reopened after being shuttered for six weeks under California's orders to stem spread of the coronavirus. She turned on the news to see scenes of people breaking into her shop and others.
'To hear the alarm ring and see people destroy the store before my eyes, it was heartbreaking,' Calderon said.
In nearby Oakland, about 60 people were arrested, including three detained on suspicion of opening fire on police department headquarters early Monday. No officers were injured, authorities said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed 1,000 members of the Guard to assist the 20,000 officers of the Los Angeles police and sheriff's departments, Garcetti said.
Humvees lined up outside Los Angeles City Hall, and troops stood behind police on the steps of the building as protesters gathered.
About 1,000 people marched through the streets of San Francisco, carrying signs and chanting 'George Floyd,' and 'Black lives matter.'
'We're here because George Floyd was murdered in cold blood,' Aliasiah Allah said.
George Floyd (left) was accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store after he was laid off in the pandemic. Disturbing video showed him prone on the street, while a white police officer (Derek Chauvin, right) pressed his knee into Floyd's neck even as he cried he couldn't breathe
People run off with merchandise from a store during widespread protests and unrest in response to the death of George Floyd on Sunday in Santa Monic
Looters emerge from a store with merchandise during a riot on Sunday in Santa Monica
At least 80 people were arrested late Sunday for violating curfew and looting as police officers seized firearms and explosives, said San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott.
The demonstrations were overwhelmingly peaceful but some 'defiant individuals' refused to disperse and threw bottles at officers and started trash fires, Scott said.
In San Diego, police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd they said pelted them with rocks and bottles.
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said officers had acted appropriately, though he acknowledged some 'individual failures'.
Moore said he would look into an incident caught on video in which a police car struck a person at a downtown protest on Sunday.
A police statement said the officers were responding to a robbery report when they encountered numerous protesters and stopped. Protesters surrounded them, threw objects into the car and shattered its rear window and damaged a side mirror, it said.
'Officers attempted to drive away, when people ran out in front of the cruiser. One of them was struck but got up and ran away before they could be identified,' the statement said. It added that firefighters responded but were unable to find anyone who was involved.
A row of police officers stand guard during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis Police custody, in Santa Monica on Sunday
Santa Barbara County police officers confront a row of protesters on Sunday
Five LAPD officers have been injured in clashes and two hospitalized, including one who required surgery after his skull was fractured by a brick, Moore said.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the city's 8 p.m. curfew would be extended indefinitely.
Breed expressed sadness about the destruction and said she was not going to tolerate the violence.
'I was extremely upset because unfortunately with some of the vandals, they thought this was a game, they thought this was funny,' Breed said.
Protests also roiled the east San Diego suburb of La Mesa, where two adjacent banks burned to the ground.
'I think people are hurting and they're angry and they're trying to be heard because there's no other way to get anyone's attention,' Ally Kaiahua said of the property damage in La Mesa.
Floyd died after white officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes as he was arrested for allegedly trying to use a counterfeit $20.
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