enforcement agency, we have our use of force policies and use of force continuum. however, in times like this, i think it's very important that our deputies and officers are showing that tremendous restraint to try and control a situation. but by having to use as little force as necessary. oftentimes our command presence and being there in a uniform in a patrol car suffices, but in the end, we want to make sure people are safe. >> but we have seen things being fired and we've seen people throw things towards the officers. we've also seen people get in the faces of the officers. there's a fire that's been set. is that a fire, dan? can you tell? >> it looks like a chemical -- some kind of a device. not a fire itself. >> sergeant lowe, what i'm trying to get at is, explain to me, whans when someone is screaming in your face? what happens if someone throws a can at you? at what level do you respond

with the next weapon or tool that you have, if you will, that's a better word at your disposa disposal? >> that's a good question. every situation is going to be different. you know, i've had many times where people are shouting things or profanities in my face while working patrol. we cannot allow those things to get to us. you know, each agency has that use of force of continuum and policy that they should follow and i believe our deputies are doing so. >> okay. sergeant mike lowe, santa clara county sheriff's office. thanks a lot for taking time to speak with us and insight into police tactics and thinking and goals in a situation like this. mike, great to come on with us. we appreciate it. >> any time. take care. >> thank you. it is now 6:01. for those of you just joining us, dan ashley, kristen sze, we've been here for the past couple of hours. dan, i'm losing track. >> it was 3:00. >> i've actually been here since

3:00. >> since 3:00. >> when my program started then. of course, this situation really started to develop around 3:20-ish when protesters who started in san jose to protest the death of george floyd in minnesota made their way on to 101, and took over the freeway there shutting down traffic in both directions at alum rock. holding traffic still for about one hour before the chp finally convinced them to leave the freeway. then they walked off into city streets and now at santa clara street, we have the standoff with police, dan, that's been getting, i would say more tense and more intense in the past hour. >> no question about that, kristen. the last 15 minutes or so, a little less skirmishing going on. we have seen, interestingly, a number of protesting holding back. other o protesters trying to

keep them from getting in police faces. you see that line of police officers with riot gear on in the front and helmets on. right behind them, a line of motorcycle officers and then back behind them are a bunch of police vehicles way back in the distance and there you see them. as we pull out from sky 7 to give you a better idea of what we're looking at. interestingly, this is just a snapshot on this one intersection. a far fewer protesters than we saw earlier on southbound 101 at alum rock, there were probably 300 or more protesters. then that number stayed pretty consistent around city hall for a time in san jose. but these folks are the diehards that are refusing to move on. it's been more intense but their numbers seemed to declined actually in the last half hour or so. >> yeah.

as dan noyes said. he's in the thick of it. he's somewhere down there. we lost his signal. but he mentioned that this is the hardcore group, if you will. they're not backing down in terms of their verbal confrontation with police and sort of standing there but slowly being pushed back. dan, this comes on a day when you think, well, will the recent protests and the tension we've seen the past few days since george floyd video came out, will it die down a little bit because of the fact that there was an arrest and a charge made? the sfrs seen on video with his knee on floyd was charged with third degree murder. don't forget, a lot of people aren't satisfied with that. they're not satisfied that the three other officers on the video weren't arrested and some say third degree murder is not enough. >> look, i'm not a lawyer. i know a lot of lawyers. but i'm not a lawyer. most of those people saying that third-degree murder is not enough aren't lawyers either.

third degree murder is something tat is in the statute in the state of minnesota and two other states in the united states and i can't recall at the moment. florida and pennsylvania have third-degree murder charges. we often hear of first and second-degree murder. the challenge, this comes on the day that derek chauvin was arrested and charged. three others not arrested and charged. presumably that is coming. we know prosecutors are concerned about winnin the case that they try. and they don't want to overcharge or undercharge. presumably, presumably, they didn't charge with third-degree murder to give him a break. they did it because they believe that's the charge they can make stick and that the law will support. again, we're not attorneys. but that stands to reason. the other -- he's the focal point because he's the one as you see on the left with his

knee on that man's neck. george floyd's neck as he begged for help and begged to breathe so horribly. the other three officers standing by, that investigation, presumably a little more complex as they figure out exactly what their level of culpability is. no doubt we'll hear more about their fate in the days to come. >> this is not isolated. we're seeing scenes like this play out across the country. we are seeing scenes like that right now at this moment in new york city. there was even a protest through washington, d.c. that ended in front of the white house with protesters shouting in front of the white house and the white house briefly being on lockdown. this is not just about george floyd. it is a culmination of a string of incidents in which people are crying no justice, no peace after the deaths of ahmaud ashby that jogger in georgia.

brianna taylor killed in louisville when the police officers went into her room wile serving a no-knock warrant. there have been a lot of incidents, and george floyd the latest, the most visible, if you will, with that agonizing, almost nine-minute video. that is just gut-wrenching to see. as he said i can't breathe, i can't breathe repeatedly as an officer kept his knee on his neck. as you mentioned, dan, derek chauvin charged with third-degree murder. four days later, after the video surfaced, is fairly quick in the way these things typically go. >> in terms of a legal process. first-degree murder. we're not lawyers. but first-degree murder implies premeditation that you went there with the intent on killing someone. we'll have to see more about the specifics of the third-degree murder charge. you know, as you said, kristen, george floyd is the latest

example of african americans being brutalized often at the hands of police and there have been a number of incidents and colin kaepernick, the former san francisco quarterback raised a lot of awareness about it when he took that knee so controversially and these protesters taking a knee today. it's the latest example of something that african-americans and other people of conscience around this country complained about and talked about for many, many years and increasingly these incidents are caught on cell camera video, which was the case with george floyd and as awful as it is to watch, it's important that people see it. it is the proof of what has happened. >> that action needs to being taken. >> kristen, take a look live on the right. some skirmishes as we look live

from sky 7. >> there have been a few of these. not many. but a few. it seems like there's a man that is on the ground there with several officers surrounding them. trying to make that arrest. >> yeah. >> i didn't see what precipitated that. did you see it? >> i didn't, unfortunately. presumably some shouting, pushing, shoving. something that led them to believe the guy crossed the line. >> objects have been thrown at police and police fired rubber bullets and some tear gas at the crowd at points. it appears they are trying to limit the use of those tools to keep the crowd farther away from them. but they have employed them in the last half hour or so. >> thereto fella goes at the top of your screen being led away. >> speaking with stacy or kate, do we have dan noyes back on the phone yet? we're efforting that. our dan noyes has been fascinating on the ground report

from literally steps away from these protesters. literally on the side of the street. he's been bringing us some very intense reporting on what was happening at ground level. our larry beil watching this as well. larry, as you pointed out a little while ago, we have another three hours of light to go on this friday evening and another protest planned in oakland about less than two hours from now. >> yeah. this is going to be the potentially a very long night for law enforcement. all other the bay area. protests georgia, denver. albuquerque. columbus, ohio. houston, phoenix. las vegas, san jose. later on in oakland. we are literally watching a nation in rage over what they've

seen. not everybody is protesting. but thousands of people around the country are doing just that. one other point that i wanted to make is that in addition to the third degree murder, there was also a second degree manslaughter charge brought against derek chauvin, the officer involved in the george floyd death. i saw this and i would have to have an attorney verify it, but i believe that, if convicted, that the potential would be 25 years incarceration. so that's not a light sentence. i assume that they could also change the charges if the evidence warranted that and change it. but clearly, the way that the prosecution has brought this case, many feel that there's an undercharging going on here. we'll have to see how ha shakes out. it's obviously going to take time for all of this to get

resolved. but in the meantime, we have inflammatory situations taking place literally. >> there's some pushing there. >> larry, just to bounce off something you said. there is some complaining -- not complaining, but concern that it's an undercharge. we'll have to see what the prosecutor says as they explain why they filed third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. the big fear and mistake is to charge incorrectly and lose. they don't want to do that. >> sure. >> i mean, that's the big concern that they make a mistake at the very beginning of the case that allows the defense to argue a technicality or mistake was made in the charging. >> you're seeing the firing of more rubber bullets at people and people are backing up right now as we look at this still tense situation with police seemingly to be on the move in terms of pushing people farther and farther back. larry, did you hear this, that colin kaepernick who famously took a knee and called a lot of

attention to black lives matter, he actually has offered to pay for the legal defenses, legal fees for the protesters, all of them in minneapolis. >> i didn't see that. but it's not surprising because colin has been very outspoken on this matter. he does have the resources to assist. in fact, when we get a break, i want to check some of his social media accounts to see the latest and his take on what's going on. again, this is the same thing that he was protesting against years ago. a lot of people kind of misunderstood what the point of his protest was in terms of thinking that he was being un-american. he wants to see a better america where your color does not matter in terms of how you are dealt with, whether it is in terms of

protests, whether in terms of jobs, whether it's in terms of all sorts of possibilities. but in particular when it comes to police brutality. dan, to pick up on one of the points you made earlier, the one thing that there will be a wealth of in this case when it finally gets into the court system is an overwhelming amount of video and that -- we didn't have that in years past, so now everybody has a cell phone, you hear the line racism isn't getting worse, it's getting filmed. that will certainly be brought to bear in this case, no doubt. you had people that were videotaping on their phones from all sorts of angles. there's going to be an overwhelming amount of evidence in this case. >> it's a great point, larry. as we all know, for many, many years, people we all know, other people we don't know and you heard story after story of treatment directed at

african-americans that was unjust and unfair and there were a great many people that found it hard to believe that it could be that bad until suddenly the advent of all of this cell phone video, is it happening more or are we just seeing it more and we're seeing it sometimes, it's raw and brutal nature. it's shot the conscious of the country and we've seen this yet again in the george floyd case. you know, rodney king was another example that touched off a firestorm around the country. decades later george floyd is another example of what so many in this country have said for so long is a genuine and serious and very deep seeded problem. >> you guys mentioned the use of cell phones and the role they play. certainly, they've been a benefit in terms of having evidence and people whose words

may not have been believed in the past when there's video to show for it that does create action. however, sometimes i also do worry whether just having the video itself causes people to behave differently. whether there will be some people, and i'm sure it's not many who act differently, maybe a way moran tag nis particular on either side because of the existence of a cell phone. >> we've seen it happen in berkeley with the protests a couple of years ago with that conservative speaker whose name escapes me. milo -- >> protesters, professional protesters, the people who show up to cause problems would deliberately antagonize the police with cell phones recording for the purpose of getting that video and for creating that kind of response.

>> milo i can't indianapolis. >> we were on the air too long. that's my excuse. >> we're about three hours almost to the minute since this protest started in san jose at city hall and moved to 101 at alum rock where they blocked traffic for an hour or so. about 2/3 of them left seemingly on their own. but police were encouraging them to move on. they weren't forced away. the other third left the freeway and moved on to the streets of san jose. in large numbers. you see several hundred people. then it sort of seemed to dissipate a little bit, except for a handful -- not a handful. but probably a hundred more people that stayed in the faces of police and would not move despite orders to do so and then we started to see things begin to escalate with more skirmishes and arrests and the firing of tear gas and rubber bullets at that point. thankfully, there has been no

widespread out of control outbreak of any kind of violence on either side, just skirmishes and arrests. a handful. >> i'm sorry. i'm taking a moment, dan. it's a lot. even for us. i think to see this play out today. like everybody else, we are optimistic that this will resolve itself peacefully. we're also a little bit worried. i just want to bring you up a tweet that came in from one of our viewers. it kind of took my breath away because it's a little emotional. they said thank you to us, for our perspective of reporting, it is empathetic and nonpartisan. it's informative and very helpful to hear someone reporting like that. >> that's nice to hear. >> i'm not saying it to pat ourselves on the back.

but i'm feeling emotional as i watch this happening in our bay area. for people to also appreciate that we're trying so hard to ballet very delicate type of sensitive reporting in which people could interpret your views to be political one way or the other when we are just trying to be unbiased and bring the facts to people and let them decide as they will. it really is gratifying. >> well, kristen, you're an expert at that. we all take that responsibility so very seriously. it's always our wish to be balanced in every way we possibly can. i'm sure we make mistakes. we never intend to. >> that's a great point, dan. >> hey, we're -- >> we're not perfect. >> no. like i always say, none of us got ordained. we got hired. but we do try to -- we do try to -- it is an emotionally charged event on both sides. the police have a very difficult job to do and the protesters

have every right to be out ranld at what they saw in minneapolis. so here we are again live. sky 7. larry, go ahead. jump in. >> i had a couple points. i wanted to confirm what kristen mentioned earlier. yes, colin kaepernick, the former 49ers quarterback has offered to help with the defense for any of the people protesting in minneapolis. i just want to read to you his pinned tweet from a day ago. for some who don't understand exactly why this is taking place. i know that seems like a stretch. but i'm sure there are people that will look at this and think these people have no bisque in the streets. maybe this helps. this is from kaepernick's twitter account. when civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction. the cries for peace will rain down and when they do, they land on deaf ears because your violence brought this resista e resistance. we have the right to fight back.

rest in power. george floyd. that is from colin kaepernick. another note on the d.a. in minneapolis. mike freeman. he did say more charges were possible. and that the investigation into the other three officers involved in the death of george floyd would continue. but to quote him, authorities felt it was appropriate to focus on the most dangerous perpetrator and that person was obviously the officer, derek chauvin who had his knee on the neck of george floyd. but, dan, you brought up rodney king. that is decades ago. you know, you could really make the case that we have not progressed very far at all. some would make the case that we've gone backwards. it struck me. you kind of brought to mind a conversation that i had recently with one of my friends. this seems so sad. just to be blunt, as a middle aged white guy, i don't think of this. if you're a black american, it

does cross your mind. i have friends who have sat down to teach their young children, children of color how to be arrested. in other words, what if you get pulled over by the police, what you should do, what you should not do. put your hands on the steering wheel. all these sorts of things that you and i might not think about because we don't feel threatened necessarily. but they're worried about their kids. and because we've seen so many of these cases. it's just such a tragedy. >> larry, i used to talk to eric thomas about that all the time when we did the morning show together. we talked about how he has advised his kids and how he himself will conduct himself when he's pulled over and you know, we joked a little about that. about the reaction when i'm pulled over for a speeding ticket versus him. but beneath that joke, it's a very serious tragic matter. and one that continues to play out and leading to ultimately

what we're seeing here today. >> it's a different experience. >> it's sad. it's a different experience. we should point out, most police officers are good, honest, decent hard working people treat people fairly. some don't and there's a bias in the system. it's a different experience when you're an african american in the country in many instances. it just is. that's what this frustration is all that you're seeing on the streets of san jose and around the country. abc 7 news reporter amanda dell castillo is with us. are you there? you can walk us through -- >> >> reporter: powerful, powerful scene here in downtown san jose. today's effort was organized mainly through social media. we came across several posts, people inviting others to protest the death of george floyd through marching through

downtown san jose. we know that started at 2:00 this afternoon. attracting hundreds to city hall. at that point, we hadn't witnessed any violence or vandalism. instead, a diverse group of protesters who made their way down east santa clara street. after 3:00, that group of more than 100 protesters entered the on ramp on to southbound 101 at the santa clara street exit. we witnessed frustration between a driver -- between several drivers, i should say and a few protesters that ended with the protesters smashing the driver's rear window. then a confrontation led to someone smashing the skateboard through the rear window of another car. these instances were not reflective of the early crowds we were seeing. they were for the most part calm and peaceful. then at 4:15, those protesters moved off the freeway and have since made their way back to city hall.

it's the scene that we're seeing now. it was easy to notice that once they moved on to the streets, those pro pesters, that things began to become more tense. we've heard from my colleague dan noyes on the front line talking about what he's experiencing, talking about what he's seeing and talking about that clash between law enforcement officers and those protesters, we're reporting from a safe distance this afternoon, this is away from downtown san jose, but we're keeping our eye on all of the development as you have been through sky 7 as well, we'll continue to do that as it -- i'm reporting live in san jose, amanda dell castillo, abc 7 news. our dan noyes is close to the action. he's along the police line. we've been hearing from him. we'll hear from him later on as we continue. kristen? >> somebody else who was in the middle of the action earlier on is actually state assembly member ash kala whose district

includes san jose. thanks for joining us. >> sure. thanks for having me on. >> i understand you were part of the protest earlier on and things were peaceful. talk to me about you, an elected official being out there with the people today. >> well, it was important for me to be out there. i was there for about the first hour as there was a march throughout downtown san jose. then back to city hall, as they headed back to -- that's when i left. it was a diverse crowd, a lot more -- there were different ages there. definitely youth oriented, youth-driven. it was important for me to be there. the whole country right now is confused, emotional. there's anger. i think that we have to come together and unite and recognize that we have to do better as a society, as a nation. and i think that a lot of what's happening right now is exposing a lot of issues we have in our society, not just in terms of

what happened with mr. floyd but the economic angst that's happening, particularly in the african american community. i think we're seeing a lot of this bubble up together that's causing so much tension. and understandably so. >> assemblyman, you made a point it was a diverse crowd. it was diverse in terms of age and gender and ethnicity. very interesting to see that this was very much a unified but diverse group of protesters today. >> yeah. i actually knew a lot of people that were there. saw a lot of friends there that are active in community work, couple of elected officials, people that are just trying to come together and we saw a really great part of san jose today as we marched around downtown and saw people coming together. a lot is supporting our youth. our youth are hurting right now. they're in pain. i think that we need to listen.

>> assemblyman, i'm sorry. we're seeing protesters kind of going into what appears to be either a construction zone. i don't know if you know that area well. they're going in. i don't know what they're doing there. they removed a fence or barrier and probably should not have done that and cannot legally do that. as you watch this, as you start to see sort of an escalation, does that disturb you? clearly, these are not the people with the same kind of mood and tone you had this afternoon. >> but i think the -- as i'm watching, it seems like it's the construction site across city hall under construction the last year or two. we don't want to see any type of destruction of property or any violent acts. but i think that we also have to put more emphasis on the action that created the reaction.

why are people angry? why are young people acting out? it's not about excusing behavior. it's about understanding behavior. no one wants to see it. but i think if we don't question it and if we don't talk to young people about why they're angry. if we don't talk to them in a genuine way. not just let it pass and on to the next big event where there's frustration but get to the root of the systemic racism that exists in all levels of our society, then we're losing an opportunity. so yes, let's make sure we create safe environment today and try to make sure that all the protesters get home safely, the police officers get home safely. but let's not end it there. make sure to continue to ask important questions as to why people are angry. why young people are enraged. why the african american community feels they're not being heard once again. >> assemblyman, thanks very much for joining us. we're looking at sky 7.

some determined construction workers came back and put the fence back up, kept the protesters from grabbing anymore. they were grabbing 4 by 4s or timber or something. assemblyman, i know you don't want to see things escalate here or anywhere else around the country. it's understandable there's anger and frustration and rage about what's going on. certainly, vandalism and violence won't help. >> well, no. it's never helpful to be violent. but we have to, again, understand where that anger is coming from. that emotion all of us are feeling emotional watching your newscast over the last hour. i know how emotional all of you are getting, understandably. it's a painful moment for all of us, our nation. yes, don't want that kind of violence or vandalism.

but i still think that we lose the opportunity to understand it more deeply if we don't get to why the anger is there. why the emotion is there. you can do both things. you can create a safe environment, you can ensure or try to make sure that people aren't acting out violently or vandalizing. i think we have to understand what this reaction is about. what are they reacting to. what is our country reacting to right now? that is something we must do even though we've had plenty of opportunities and warnings and incidents. i think it's really important that we do it now because otherwise we'll just complain about the vandalism, complain about protesters and no one actually gets hurt. part of what they're doing -- the 101 freeway being closed down. there wasn't must incident in terms of it was peaceful, they're on the freeway.

some young people i heard speaking. they wanted to get on the news and get the attention. >> call attention. >> civil disobedience is about getting attention to a cause that matters. gandhi did, chavez did. classic civil disobedience. we want to make sure in that same vein that the civil disobedience remains nonviolent. when there is acts of aggression or acting out, we want to understand why. not just condemn it flat-out and not question the underlying emotion. >> assemblyman ash kalra, who participated earlier today, thank you so much for calling in and making the time. >> thank you. >> thank you very much, assemblyman. let's watch live. you see two ground-level footage and from sky 7. our dan noyes has been literally right in the thick of it, along the police line. he's back with us. dan, we've seen a few more

skirmishes. >> dan, it definitely has escalated some. when you're feet away from a flash bang grenade, it will get your attention. that's what happened a few seconds ago. you can see a guy on the ground here. we got to clear out a little bit. you see there's another flash bang grenade. they're -- the police are escalating their response. they are taking more extreme measures to clear the protesters aw away. the protesters have picked up some of the tear gas and throwing it back at the police. going back and forth. they're throwing tear gas in all different directions over my head, down the street. the protesters are taking the tear gas canisters and throwing them back at the police officers. >> get back. >> that is the sound of a flash bang grenade.

that will do very good job of clearing it out. you've got -- boy, you have a group of probably ten protesters who are just standing strong, arms up right in front of the police. but, again the tear gas is flowing. the flash bang grenades are going off. they're firing rubber bullets. i recognize one of their weapons. it's an fn 303 a riot gun fires a plastic projectile with pellets in it. the police have taken much more action to clear this out. it is working. my eyes are now burning from the tear gas. wow. >> sorry, dan. i've had that happen to me before. it's no fun. don't rub your eyes. it makes it worse. >> yeah.

it's interesting because they aren't just going at the protesters right in front of them. they are firing off to the side over our heads as well. they're now moving forward as you can see. i assume from sky 7. we're now moving past santa clara street and fifth street. the protesters are on the run. they're backing up. the police are doing a good job of clearing it out. the tear gas has done the job. the flash bang grenades have done the job. those projectiles have done the job. >> dan, is it your sense that they might be moving with a little more urgency to try to get people to disperse before nightfall? >> reporter: that's a good call, i would think. yes. but it does look -- the sun is well up. we've got at least another hour, hour and a half before the sunsets. we have a while to go here. i tell you, this is not doing a

lot to calm down the crowd. the crowd is still adamant about being here. they're just moving. from what i'm seeing on the ground, i don't expect them to fully disperse. they're moving away. but i don't think they're going to fully disperse. these actions by the police are definitely inflaming the crowd as you might expect. but again, it is making them disperse. you know, one scene i have to convey. a few minutes ago, i saw a woman about five feet from the police and we kind of locked eyes and she -- boy, she looked like any other mom from the suburbs. she didn't have a mask on and i motioned to her to cover up her face. she kind of smiled and then she put on her mask. a second later, she was knocked over when a police officer took his baton and pushed over a man on a bicycle. the man on the bicycle knocked her over. the police went to the ground on

top of the woman and the man and so it just interesting you share a smile with someone and the next minute they're on the ground with the police on top of them. this is what's playing out right now. again, you have a distance of about a football field between the police and the bulk of the protesters. but there are one, two, three, four, five protesters who are standing strong right in front with their hands up just ten feet away from the police. so this drama continues to play out here. dan and kristen. >> yeah. it is interesting to know why police made a sudden decision to take more aggressive action and move out in different directions to disperse the crowd. what was the tipping point that led to that decision. but you can see on the split screen from the ground on the left, you can see protesters and

police intermingled at times. on the right, a larger picture live from sky 7. of the numbers that we're talking about, several hundred people on the streets of san jose still. a protest that has now gone on for almost five hours. >> hey, dan. we finally get to see you. >> we see you dan on the left. >> we've got you. >> i'm glad to see you're well. and safe with your mask. >> guys, i just want to talk about a little bit about what may have been the tipping point. >> whoa! >> fireworks. >> that's a serious flash bang grenade. unfortunately, there was a guy who was right at the location of the flash bang going off. he is kind of doubled over. he's got a scooter. looks like he's going to try to walk away. boy -- >> that was loud. >> it was a miracle that that young guy didn't get injured by that. it went off right at him. but i was going to say that what

teamed to have set off this latest push is that some of the protesters were getting a little bit more aggressive in confronting police up close, some threw bottles and plastic bottles with water in them. so i think the police sensed that the protesters were getting more aggressive. so they felt they had to respond. they responded with some serious force. >> you know, dan, this is not a particularly pertinent at this moment but it's in the context of the time we're in. i notice a lot of face masks. yours included. a lot of people wearing face masks. social distancing not too much in force during this time. but i do see a lot of people wearing face masks. >> absolutely. you know, i'm doing my best to stay away from people as much as possible. dan, i don't know if you can see this now. but there are protesters taking

newspaper stands. >> i was seeing that it's like a barricade. >> the police are firing on them right now. the police are firing the projectiles. these are not live rounds but projectiles. this looks like -- whoa. it looks like a car they have outfitted. there's a protest sign on the back of it. the protesters parked the car there and brought newspaper stands to make a blockade. this is just before fourth street on santa clara street. there's protesters ducking behind that car. boy, the driver is getting out. i saw some of the projectiles going through the side, the passenger side window and that driver has now cleared from the car. this is going to be an issue. the protesters are trying to make their stand right here. they're now putting other trash cans there. clearly, the police are not going to let that stand for very long, i would imagine, dan.

>> i wouldn't think so. >> for me this evokes, i'm a musical theater fan. i can't help but think of "les miserables" when you think of a blockade. it worries me dan. that tells me they're prepared for more serious back and forth. they need that barricade to stay behind. they've got newspaper stands and what else? >> that's the main impediment. i see a couple of people ducking behind that vehicle pretty close. directly behind that. i'm looking at the other side. the vehicle definitely was set up for the protests. there are protest signs on this side away from the police officers. but i tell you, that is the place you don't want to be

behind that vehicle. this afternoon, the fire from the rubber bullets and the flash bangs are typically going straight down the street. generally. so that is really the center of the danger zone in terms of being a protester. if you want to take a rubber bullet, it's in front of where the police are. now, there are more people gathering behind that car. and boy, i don't want to see how this plays out. >> no. you run the risk of getting hit in the face by a rubber bullet or the eye. it can be very dangerous as you pointed out. >> it's interesting. what we don't know, are these people we're looking at with the car, with were they part of that protest on highway 101 earlier, are these other protesters as we've seen where they come in and join them and escalate deliberately with police? >> well, it seems to me, dan, these people were prepared. i don't know whether they were out on 101 earlier.

but that car was definitely part of the protest. they prepared to be part of the protest. i'm trying to get a little close to see what's written on the vehicle. but i'm not going to chance it. i'm not going to get that close. >> no, don't. >> they definitely were prepared. people standing up right in the line of fire of those -- the projectiles. boy, i just don't get it. i got to say, dan, you make a good point about watching out for your eyesight and your eyes. some of those projectiles were missing well high of the protesters. they were over their heads. so specifically, you're supposed to be firing at someone's midsection or below. >> to sting them but not injure them. >> exactly right. >> they brought in another piece -- is that a dumpster or something they pushed in for their barricade, for the blockade, which seems to be heavy duty that they're

uprighting right there. >> that's actually some sort of a fixture. looks like it's a display cabinet or a refrigerator from my vantage point. it looks like a cooling unit on top of it. >> i think you're right, dan. >> dan, don't go away. we're going to keep showing what's happening in san jose. but we want to take our viewers briefly to oakland. a protest is about to there. san jose. >> they've been saying that. i think what's going on here is there are two protests. one at 5:00. that is this one which has been growing over the past hour. maybe 100 people there. standing peacefully with signs and chanting right on broadway. right in front of city hall.

now, if you look over here where i am, come back over here, rick. that's not the protest people are concerned about. they're concerned about the one that's supposed to get underway at 8:00. that's why all along this street, you'll see buildings like this with the windows boarded up. >> a few dozen people marched down oakland streets yesterday blocking several intersections demonstrating their pain and frustration over the death of george floyd during an arrest by minneapolis police. that's as rowdy as it got yesterday. but today, police warn things could be different. they said there could be damage so we wanted to take precaution. >> he's a chef of a small restaurant across the street from city hall. they've boarded up the glass doors and kaiser supports the protest. >> another raid -- i hope we're not caught in the crossfire. >> another business is taking a different approach. joshua chase owns have a heart,

a marijuana dispensary across the street from oakland police headquarters. he's put handwritten signs letting people know it's a black owned business run by a kid from east oakland hoping it deters trouble. still, he's planning for a long night. >> we're going to have a lot of staff here tonight. i'll be running security myself until late this morning. >> oakland interim police chief sue an mannheimer supports the right to protest. what happened in minneapolis. she has this warning. >> if i could remind everyone that opd will taken forcement action if, in fact, there's damage to property or to the safe and peaceful demonstrations of their voices. >> reporter: now, once again, we believe this will be a separate protest for the one that is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. tonight. a flier from an unknown group has been circulating online about the later protest at 8:00

p.m. saying vengeance for george floyd. i think that is what has a lot of people concerned. that's why oakland police say they are ready to respond and to call in additional help from alameda county sheriff's office and other surrounding municipalities and aid. they fervently hope it won't be needed this evening. of course here at abc 7 news we'll keep track of what's going on here in oakland as well as what you've been seeing in san jose today. we'll bring that to you at 11:00, if not before. live in oak lands, eric thomas, abc 7 news. eric, be careful, okay. let's turn back to on the phone, mayor sam liccardo, the mayor of san jose. sam, are you there? >> i am. >> thanks for coming on again. we appreciate it. when we spoke with you last, these protests were quite peaceful in san jose. things have changed considerably. what are your thoughts? >> well, they have taken a turn. we know we've seen an assault on

an officer. we sent to the medical center. seen some damage. obviously the officers have stepped in and not going to tolerate violence, nor should they. i think they're showing an enormous amounts of restraint. most of the protesters are peaceful but some are trying to provoke. there have been a lot of fireworks being thrown at the officers. there are various objects being thrown at them and the officers are showing a lot of restraint. they're going to wait this out and be as patient as they need to be. >> they did make a decision to move the protesters and take control of intersections. do you have any idea why they decided to do that? >> primary focus is just to disperse the crowd as much as possible. you don't want a concentration of folks when there are a few that are engaged in provocative antics. i can't speak to the specific direction and travel. i know they've been pushing them

to the west. but it seems to be the easiest way for folks to move on and get back in cars or walk home. >>mayorrrrrrr injury. >> to an officer. >> to a police officer. >> do you know about protesters as well, injuries there? >> i don't have any reports yet. >> okay. >> i have not seen any. i have not seen anyone, for example, taken to an ambulance or a fire truck. >> you know, sam, i know as mayor, you're in close touch with the police. give people -- i know the police are handling this in moment. but give us a sense of what you do as mayor in coordination with the police department on an evening like this. >> well, my job is to let the professionals do their jobs. this is what they train for. garcia and the rest of the team

understand what their job is. that is to do everything possible and ensure nobody gets hurt. that's what they're going to do. i have a lot of confidence in them. my job is to stay alert to everything that's happening and ensure that we can get information out to the public and obviously if there's any resources that are needed, if there's any help from other departments, public works, anybody else, want to make sure everybody is pushing together. >> at one point mayor, we saw protesters try to enter a construction site and they in fact got in before construction workers sort of pushed them back out. have you been in coordination with the downtown business district to take preventative action? >> no. the good news is, the crowd has really thinned quite a bit. it's a much smaller group than was here as recently as an hour ago. i don't expect, but obviously i

can't know. but i don't expect there will be a significant amount of damage to the other businesses. it seems as though the individuals who are most confrontational are relatively small number right now. looks like approximately a couple thousand within a few feet of the police officers. >> you know, my hunch, mayor, is that these may not be the same protesters that we saw peacefully on 101 today. but a different group comes in to perhaps clash with police. don't know that. but a hunch. >> i suspect you might be right about that. some are attracted to the confrontation. some want to express outrage. my heart is with those who express sadness for the death of george floyd and their outrage for the injustice. >> we're seeing the building of perhaps another barrier, a blockade, if you will. mayor liccardo, if your time as mayor and in your civic

engagement, the leader in the city, have you seen a situation this tense before? >> no. i mean, certainly we had very tense situation when then candidate donald trump was here speaking and there were confrontations that resulted in some injuries. i think learned a lot from that situation. i think they're going to make sure that they do everything possible to ensure people are not hurt and to reduce every opportunity for anyone to engage in violent clashes. >> mayor sam liccardo, thank you very much for taking the time. sam, great of you to come on. we appreciate it. i know you're very busy this evening. i really appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> live from sky 7, this protesters continue to clash with the san jose police department as the mayor describes, it's thinned out

somewhat. but those that remain are very intense and very intent on continuing to confront police very directly. kristen was just mentioning, there we go. see in the middle of the street. looks like newspaper, machines, whatever they can grab to disrupt the area and kind of take control and make a little stand as best they can. you know, they don't have police vehicles and riot gear and motorcycles. they're making do with newspaper stands, kristen. >> yeah. san jose miles a hour liccardo told us one officer, unfortunately, has been injured in this protest. >> we saw him being taken out. the injury was -- he was being carried away. it looked somewhat serious injury. >> my heart breaks for the police department and officers as well. at the same time, you know they denounce what happened in minneapolis and what they saw on video.

they put that statement out very clearly. it's not what they're taught to do. they hope that people don't think that it represents them in any way. at the same time, they are out there trying to keep the peace in the streets. and in some cases, they're having things thrown at them and things said to them. and you look at every single one of these individuals. they are all people and they have families. they are not the officer who had his knee in george floyd. i understand the representation of a systematic issue when they see someone in uniform now. but let's try to remember right now that those men and women in uniform on the streets of san jose right now are trying to do a balanced job of ensuring everybody's safety, maintaining peace and order and making sure we get through tonight having made the message that needed to be made. but still, ensure that nobody gets really hurt. >> extremely well said, kristen

and important comment as we're reminded it's easy to paint any group with the same brush when something happens. there have been a lot of significant problems within police departments around the country. even here in the bay area. by and large, most men and women in law enforcement are good and decent people and want to try to do the right thing. there have been always been bad actors as we've seen in minneapolis. before we run out of time, let me bring larry beil back in one more time. we have about 30 seconds. if you can give us your final impressions before we leave folks for the moment. >> i just fear that we're looking at the possibility of a very long night. i'm just hoping that, look, we had one death with george floyd. i'm hoping that we don't have any more result of protests taking place all over the country. i hope everybody can keep their

calm especially as night falls. profound sadness and not a good day for america. >> thanks, larry. we can always hope that a situation like this leads us to a better day and move forward to a better place. live coverage will continue here as you look on the left from the street on the right from our sky 7 helicopter. our dan noyes, i think he passed in front of the cameras in the thick of it reporting for us. this remaining group of protesters intent on staying put. clashing with police a little bit. and police have been a little bit more aggressive with them. everybody is hoping and trying to keep things as calm as possible. but kristen, it's going to be a long night here and of course in oakland. we are going to turn things over to jeopardy in a moment. but we'll continue online and you can download the abc 7 news app as well. for larry beil, i'm dan ashley,

kristen give you the last word here. >> i'm out of words. i like what you just said. after larry said this is not a good day for america. like you said, it may be a great day for america if it's what opens up conversations. bring us together and examine the issues that drove what happened here. so it's a new start perhaps. >> so true. well said. >> our coverage will continue online. we'll take you to abc

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