A group of National Guardsmen was filmed kneeling with protesters in Hollywood as demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality continue in cities across the country.
As the thousands of protesters demonstrating against the death of George Floyd came across the service members on Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street, some in the crowds shouted “take a knee,” the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
Some of the guardsmen complied with the request, prompting at least one in the crowd to shout “thank you” and others to applaud, according to the local CBS affiliate. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also took a knee during Tuesday’s protest.
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More than 2,400 National Guardsmen were deployed through areas of California where protests and riots have been especially violent.
“The National Guard are not playing a proactive law enforcement role,” said officer Karl Chan, a spokesman for Sacramento police, according to the Military Times. “They are guarding, and we’re using them to guard critical infrastructure to free up our officers to respond to incidents of a critical nature — vandalism, looting, things like that.”
Protests have spread across the country since Floyd’s death on Memorial Day when now-fired Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on the unarmed black man’s neck for nearly nine minutes until he lost consciousness. In some instances, demonstrations have turned violent, including cases of looting, arson, vandalism, and clashes with law enforcement.
An independent autopsy found that Floyd’s death was “homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain.” The medical examiner also ruled his death a homicide.
Charges against Chauvin were increased Wednesday from third-degree murder to second-degree murder. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also charged former Minneapolis police officers Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao with aiding and abetting murder.
