Protesters block entrances to Bay Bridge, march in Beverly Hills, L.A. and other locations
Protests over police violence continued Saturday across California, ranging from small events in Beverly Hills and downtown Los Angeles to a larger one in the Bay Area.
Several hundred protesters took to the streets of San Francisco, blocking several roads and freeway on-ramps to the Bay Bridge.
The California Highway Patrol twice closed access to the bridge Saturday afternoon when protesters took over two freeway ramps, causing a traffic backup.
The group began marching from the city’s Hall of Justice to the downtown shopping area, causing a temporary shutdown of a popular mall as the crowd gathered there to chant slogans and make speeches.
More than 200 people on Friday gathered outside the state Capitol for a small but passionate Black Lives Matter rally, hours after at least five Dallas police officers and multiple people were wounded in a sniper attack.
The event was organized entirely on social media by social justice activists and residents rattled by the events in Dallas and the most recent fatal shootings by police of two African American men: Philando Castile, who was shot and killed in his car by a police officer in Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, who was shot several times while he was held on the ground by police outside a Louisiana convenience store.
Participants led a peaceful march around the Capitol, holding signs and shouting a familiar call: “Hands up. Don’t Shoot.” At least two hecklers shouted at the demonstrators but were quickly quieted by the crowd.
Drivers along the streets honked their horns in support.
Rappers and Los Angeles-area natives the Game and Snoop Dogg led a unification march for men of color Friday morning to the LAPD’s graduation of its newest officers.
The Game, Snoop Dogg lead march to LAPD headquarters, meet with Chief Charlie Beck »
About 6:30 a.m., the Game posted on his Instagram account a call for men of all races to march to the Los Angeles Police Department’s headquarters to “make the Californian government & it’s law branches aware that from today forward, we will be UNIFIED as minorities & we will no longer allow them to hunt us or be hunted by us !!!”
He said women and children should stay away. “THIS IS OUR MISSION FOR THEM,” he wrote.
The Game, a Compton native whose legal name is Jayceon Terrell Taylor, said in his announcement the march had to be peaceful.
“Do not: bring any weapons or anything illegal. Do not come high or belligerent ... We don’t need any HOT HEADS or anyone there for the wrong reasons… We will stand as we are, UNIFIED. I’m calling ALL GANGS, ALL RACES, ALL GROWN MEN affiliated or not & we will stand UNIFIED.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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