BENTONVILLE -- Benton County Sheriff Office deputies shot tear gas into a crowd Monday night gathered at the downtown square to protest police brutality.
The firing began after 9 p.m. Monday, according to posts on Bentonville's Facebook page.
At a little after 9 p.m. a post read, "Crowd size has seemed to decrease. Smaller groups have broken away. One medical call near the statue. Fireworks currently being deployed in the area."
Updates noted protesters damaged two police cars near the square, and officers requested additional law enforcement.
The Sheriff's Office issued warnings for the crowd to disperse, according to the Facebook posts. The crowd refused and tear gas was used. A post at 9:25 p.m. said the crowd was still refusing to leave.
Tear gas was fired several times into the crowd as Sheriff's Office deputies and Bentonville police stood in a line near the front of the courthouse. Some in the crowd pick up the tear gas canisters and threw them back at the officers.
About 10:15 p.m., law enforcement officer were on the steps of the Benton County courthouse in riot gear facing the crowd. Protesters chanted for police to leave.
At 10:24 p.m. the crowd took a knee in front of the officers and chanted "Hands up, don't shoot." By 10:30 p.m. there seemed to a lull in the crowd, and one man was seen playing the tuba.
Many of the protesters used phones to film the officers, who wore face shields and gas masks and carried batons. Others took selfies in front of the officers, and two men carrying the Mexican flag plopped down a bench near some of the authorities.
At times, some people in the crowd threw water bottles at the officers. At 10:47 p.m. more tear gas was fired and the officers moved to the edge of the street before fanning out onto the square to disperse the crowd.
Some people fled across East Central Avenue where some threw eggs and hurled insults at the officers.
A Bentonville police officer using a vehicle loudspeaker said the gathering was no longer a lawful assembly and asked the crowd to disperse.
Benton County Sheriff's Office officials estimated the crowd at about 1,500 people at its peak earlier in the evening.
The protest had been going for several hours, peacefully, until 9 p.m.
"Everything was peaceful and someone started to throw water bottles," Sheriff Shawn Holloway said. The sheriff also said someone vandalized a Bentonville police car.
"It boiled over when some of the protesters assaulted a woman and others who held an American flag," Holloway said. The woman was pushed toward the officers, he said.
"We wanted to keep it peaceful. I have respect for their right to protest, but we have to have order," he said. Holloway said he noted a change in the crowd when many of the teens left. Holloway said he knew of at last two arrests at the protest.
Protests, sometimes violent, have erupted across the nation in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes after he was detained. Former officer Derek Chauvin was arrested in connection with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers were fired in connection with the incident.
Before the mayhem erupted, protesters circled the downtown square calling for an end to police brutality against minorities.
The continuous line of people passed a statue of a Confederate soldier, a focal point of previous calls to end racism in northwest Arkansas. The Arkansas Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy announced Monday afternoon it has agreed to move the statue after discussion with community leaders, according to a news release from the group.
The property where the statue sits is county-owned, and the Daughters of the Confederacy own the statue, County Judge Barry Moehring said. Bentonville maintains the beautification and maintenance of the property.
Many people who gathered on the square Monday night wore some sort of black clothing and face coverings and held high hundreds of homemade signs.
"No justice, no peace" and "Hands up, don't shoot" were just a few of the chants that echoed through downtown. Drivers honked their horns in support, and the boisterous crowd gave cheers back. At point, the whole group took a knee as one in silence.
Statue on the move
The Daughters of the Confederacy agreed to work with the Benton County Historical Society and other community members to move the monument to a permanent private park named "James H. Berry Park," according to the group's announcement. The park is adjacent to the Bentonville Cemetery, where former governor Berry is buried.
The statue depicts a bearded soldier, according to the 1996 National Register of Historical Places registration form for the monument.
The agreement will allow the Daughters of the Confederacy to continue to display and preserve the historical significance of the monument and its connection to the history of Benton County in perpetuity, according to the release.
The moving will begin in August after the group submits an application under the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program to maintain the monument on the National Registry of Historic Places, according to the release.. The Historical Society will own and operate the park and display the monument and the Daughters of the Confederacy will continue to own the monument, according to the release.
Sheree Miller is a member of Shame of Bentonville. The group has been protesting for more than a year for the removal of the monument. She was excited to learn about the removal.
"It means to me when my grandchildren and relatives come to Bentonville that I can take them to the square without being ashamed," she said.
Safety concerns
The event Monday night occurred despite a cancellation announcement earlier in the day from one of organizers.
Courtney Reed, an organizer for Bentonville's Justice for George Floyd, said she postponed her group's participation because of threats it received from white supremacists via social media.
Reed and Shania Wilson were the organizers of the Bentonville event, according to its Facebook page. Reed said they took the threats seriously and wanted to have more security. She said police were aware of the threats.
The hope was to reschedule the protest for this weekend, she said.
Bentonville Police Chief Jon Simpson confirmed Monday afternoon Wilson and Reed had postponed their event. However, other groups and individuals still planned some protest on the square, Simpson said.
"We have been made aware of some protest planned in the city of Bentonville regarding the death of George Floyd," Mayor Stephanie Orman said. "We respect and support peaceful protest and see this as an individual's right as part of our democracy. This incomprehensible act has caused anger and frustration, but we ask for that anger to be channeled in a positive manner without influence from outside organizations."
General News on 06/03/2020