Local News

Looters Strike Bayside Marketside As Demonstrators Clash With Miami Police

May 30, 2020 / 11:52 PM EDT / CBS Miami

click to expand

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Looters struck the popular tourist destination Bayside Marketplace Saturday in downtown Miami as demonstrators clashed with police just a few blocks away on Saturday night.

Video from Chopper 4 showed a bunch of people ransacking stores at Bayside Marketplace located on Biscayne Boulevard, just blocks from Miami Police Headquarters where a demonstration, which started peacefully earlier in the day, turned violent.

A SWAT team was sent to Bayside but the looters took off running.

A pair of protesters attempt to stop others from throwing rocks and water bottles at police during a demonstration next to the city of Miami Police Department, Saturday, May 30, 2020, downtown in Miami. Protests were held throughout the country over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

All this while chaos was unfolding by the police department when protesters threw rocks and bottles at officers who were lined outside headquarters, and officers began firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

GALLERY: MIAMI DEMONSTRATION TURNS VIOLENT

The protesters were calling for justice in the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while being taken into custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday.

During the chaos Saturday night in Miami, protesters set fire to several cars including police cars.

A police car burns during a demonstration next to the city of Miami Police Department, Saturday, May 30, 2020, downtown in Miami. Protests were held throughout the country over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25.(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered a countywide curfew that went into effect at 10 p.m. as did the City of Miami and Hallandale Beach.

The City of Miami's curfew starts even earlier on Sunday from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.