Protests Amid a Pandemic

For the fourth night in a row there were protests around the Country Club Plaza over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of the police last week.

And for another night, police declared the protests an unlawful assembly. Tear gas was fired, and reportedly about arrests were made during the protests.

Mayor Quinton Lucas, who has been attending the protests regularly, said during a television interview that though he is upset about reported damage to stores and other property, he is more concerned about not seeing future police brutality against African Americans. Lucas also took questions from protesters and marched with them and later in the evening reportedly took a knee with Kansas City Police Department Police Chief Rick Smith.

Meanwhile, health officials are concerned about the protest gatherings taking place in which there is a lack of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Doctors and others are saying that people taking place in mass demonstrations might want to limit their exposure to others for a few weeks, as they are worried about a new spike in cases, reported KCTV5.

“I think the key is, even exercising your right to free speech and protesting injustice doesn’t keep you immune from spreading a disease like COVID-19,” it quoted Steve Stites, chief medical officer for the University of Kansas Health System. “Don’t succumb to the disease trying to do something that you think is right.”

On the retail front, the Plaza’s stores and restaurants have been closed since Saturday, as landlords, tenants and others clean up after damage to certain establishments. Some stores were boarded up and even posted signs supporting the protesters, noted KCUR.

Also damaged were some businesses along 4500 Main St., buildings of which are owned by American Century Investments, which has its headquarters next door. There were broken windows and graffiti at some stores, which lie across the street from Mill Creek Park, which is the epicenter of where the protests are held.

In Washington, President Donald Trump has told governors that he would deploy the military to control the protests if states did not enlist the help of their respective National Guards, saying he would use the Insurrection Act to take such action.