INDIANAPOLIS — A day after downtown Indianapolis was hit by a second night of riots following protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, city leaders are cracking down to prevent a third night of violence.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett has declared a “red travel warning” for the downtown area.
“Under this order, all residents are required to be home by 8 p.m. and to stay home for their own safety,” Hogsett said Sunday. “Looting and violence towards businesses in Indianapolis is inexcusable. That is not who we are.”
The curfew will last until 6:00 Monday morning and will also be in place for the whole of Marion County.
IMPD Chief Randal Taylor said police officers made 29 arrests during Saturday night’s riots. Deputy Cheif Josh Barker has called the protests before the riots took place the “most successful protest” this city has ever seen.
He believes many of the people who caused the riots, which he says started outside the city-county building, were not from Indianapolis. He referred to them as “bad actors” causing unrest within the crowd.
“This protest turned from protest to riot based on the actions of an overt few outside the city-county building,” Barker said. “Many had firecrackers and other incendiary devices that they were throwing at officers.”
Tear gas was deployed at that point to disperse the crowd.
Barker said they had to continue using tear gas, pepper balls, and other tactics to disperse crowds throughout the night.
Two people were killed and there were several non-fatal shootings as well. Barker said officers were pulled back at around 4:00 a.m. when they were finally able to restore order.
Leaders of the NAACP of Indianapolis have condemned the violence that took place after Saturday night’s protest.
