Sacramento Ferguson Protest At Arden Fair Mall Largely Peaceful, 5 Arrested
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Protesters took to Arden Fair mall on the busiest shopping day of the year to speak out against what they said is the injustice of a police officer not being indicted for the shooting death of a teen.
Things started peacefully with protesters wanting their voices to be heard with a simple message: stop police brutality.
"Black and brown youth are getting shot down every single day. A black man dies every 28 hours at the hands of law enforcement or security issues," said protester Estevan Hernandez.
At around 6 p.m., Sacramento Police spokesman Doug Morse says protesters got out of hand and started to block traffic on Arden Way, forcing them to make arrests.
"We gave a disperse order several times, a lawful disperse order and they refused to get out of the street," he said.
Five people were arrested in the protest; two of them were minors.
Police say at one point, the protesters blocked the entrance to the mall as well, forcing mall security to lock up some doors, and shoppers having to find another way out.
But shoppers CBS13 spoke to say it stop them from doing what they were here to do.
"They seemed harmless," said Kwame Hamid. "They seemed harmless. They all seemed like young kids worried about their safety with the police department."