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Los Angeles Sets Curfew For Fourth Night, Along With County; Santa Monica & Beverly Hills Schedule Afternoon Lockdowns – Update

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UPDATE, 1:20 PM: After L.A. County announced another night of curfew in the region earlier today, it was only a matter of time until the City of Angels itself made public its own lockdown measures in response to unrest following widespread protests over the killing of George Floyd.

Like last night, L.A. will go under curfew from 6 PM until 6 AM on Wednesday. This is the fourth night in a row and still under the coronavirus pandemic that America’s second largest city’s streets will go quiet, at least in theory.

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“The focus needs to stay on taking down systemic racism and ending senseless violence against Black men and women — and we can’t let a small number of people hijack that movement by destroying property and looting,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Tuesday. “We are keeping the curfew in place tonight to protect everyone’s safety and help our first responders keep the peace.”

The LAPD have arrested approximately 2,700 people since the curfews began following clashes on the streets with passionate but primarily peaceful protesters and looting on May 30. Of those 2,700, the cops say around 2,500 are individuals who were out after the curfews took hold. The other 200 were for violence or looting, the police proclaim.

Protests are currently taking place in DTLA and over in Hollywood, where they have occurred before this week. As a result, in a classic police and civic containment move, LA Metro lines are not stopping to pick up or drop off passengers at the Civic
Center, Hollywood/Vine, Hollywood/Western, Hollywood/Highland and Pershing Square Stations. Countywide, there also are marches in Manhattan Beach (or South Bay) and Cal State Northridge.

George Floyd died on May 25 after a Minneapolis cop sat on his neck in the street of the city as the victim screamed out “I can’t breathe.”

The horror was captured by someone’s smartphone and the video went viral. The now fired cop is facing third-degree murder charges and a possible sentence of 25 years. The Floyd family and many others believe 44-year old Derek Chauvin should have been charged with first-degree murder and the life imprisonment it carries.

PREVIOUSLY, 11:24 AM: The County of Los Angeles has imposed a 6 p.m. Tuesday curfew, continuing the trend of the past several days as protesters and agitators take to the streets. It extends through 6 a.m. Wednesday. Still no word of a lockdown for the City of Los Angeles, but County Supervisor Janice Hahn said Monday that if the county curfew “is stricter than a local curfew order, the county curfew supersedes it.”

Culver City now has followed suit and imposed a 4 p.m. curfew today for a second consecutive day. The city is home to Sony, Amazon Studios and several other entertainment companies.

PREVIOUSLY, 10:52 AM: Two of the Los Angeles-area cities hit by looters over the weekend again have set curfews for this afternoon and tonight. Beverly Hills will close down at 1 p.m. Tuesday, and Santa Monica will follow suit at 2 p.m.

Both curfews extend to 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. The Westside cities were the sites of protests over the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police — Beverly Hills on Saturday and Santa Monica on Sunday.

Protesters and agitators targeted Rodeo Drive on Saturday as the famed tony Beverly Hills street trended on Twitter and people were encouraged to go there to protest. On Sunday, there were peaceful assemblies in Santa Monica that took place as looters were hitting the Santa Monica Place shopping center and other nearby businesses. Police used teargas and fired rubber bullets at protesters near the pier around 4:30 p.m. as civil unrest engulfed the city and looting happened about a half-mile away.

Meanwhile, about 150 peaceful protesters marched through the streets of Venice on Tuesday morning, walking past boarded-up shops on trendy Abbot Kinney Boulevard. There have been no reports of looting there thus far.

Over in Beverly Hills, a group of protesters was marching east on South Santa Monica Boulevard toward Rexford Drive as of about 11:40 a.m. There also was a large protest march in progress in Hollywood, where some vandalism and looting happened Monday. Marches were headed east on Hollywood Boulevard toward Vine Street.

Los Angeles Police Department officials said arrest totals from Monday still were being tabulated as of late morning. NBC News reported that the Hollywood Division alone made a single-day record 585 arrests, including 20 for looting, and impounded 50 vehicles. The remainder mostly were for curfew violations.

In New York City, which has been rocked by vandalism and looting amid protests, has extended its 8 p.m. curfew through Sunday.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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