Protesters, Police Clash Violently On Downtown Streets; Supt. Brown Says Agitators Assaulted Officers

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A total of 24 people were arrested Saturday night as another protest led to violent clashes between demonstrators and police downtown.

Police Supt. David Brown said multiple agitators "hijacked a peaceful protest," which snaked from Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive southwest to Adams and LaSalle streets before dark on Saturday evening.

Brown said the agitators deployed large, black umbrellas and changed their appearance before assaulting officers – similar to what police reported several weeks ago at a protest near the since-removed Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park.

Officers were assaulted with chemical spray, bottles, skateboards, among other things, Brown said.

Brown said police made 24 arrests – four of them for felony aggravated battery to a police officer.

He said officers deployed pepper spray for their protection, and two protesters were treated at the scene.

A total of 17 officers were being treated Saturday night for non-life-threatening injuries.

As CBS 2's Steven Graves reported, the protest started out peacefully at the Cloud Gate sculpture, or the Bean, at Millennium Park. Issues at hand for demonstrators included defunding the Chicago Police Department and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But as police manned the crowd, it turned into chaos on downtown streets.

At one point, demonstrators had bicycles creating a barrier around them. Police were lined up near the scene, following the group as they marched.

One clash that Graves witnessed started when a line of police officers came close to merging with the line of protesters.

That is when bikes started being tugged at and it turned to chaos, with pepper spray flying and personal belongings being tugged at on both ends.

The aftermath was several more tense moments that ended with officers and protesters injured.

One demonstrator said protester were mistreated by police.

"And it's not right for our government to be attacking its own people for them to be pepper spraying our people. We shouldn't need protection from the people who are meant to be protecting us," the demonstrator said. "So the fact that they're pepper spraying peaceful protesters, the fact that they're beating up peaceful protesters - they're violating our right to assemble. They're violating our freedom of the press."

This latest protest came as police added extra officers to the streets following looting last Sunday night into Monday morning in and around the downtown area.

It was evident that the CPD was prepared, with officers lined up, blocking off bridges and roads.

Brown said the response by officers on Saturday evening was proportionate to what they were up against with the protesters.

"To protect the peaceful protesters, as well as their fellow officers, our officers responded proportionately to get the situation under control," Brown said.

CBS 2 has requested any body cam video from police or their videographers on scene.

In:
• The Loop
• Michigan Avenue
• Chicago Police Department
• Protest
• LaSalle Street