Memphis protest blocks bridge traffic

Another Person In Memphis Shot & Killed Over Hair Weave! So Where Are The #BLM Protest?

Chanel Trice holds a sign while standing on the cement median between the Eastbound and Westbound lanes of the Interstate 40 bridge over the Mississippi River. Black Lives Matter supporters brought traffic to a standstill on both sides of the bridge by about 7 p.m. as the estimated crowd on the bridge swelled to more than 1,000.(Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

A crowd of more than 1,000 shut down the Interstate 40 bridge for several hours Sunday night as part of a protest over recent killings of black men by police officers. Traffic finally began moving again about 10:30 p.m.

Traffic was backed up for miles in both Tennessee and Arkansas as drivers sat idling on the bridge, wondering what was going on. This has become a common tactic with some Black Lives Matter movements around the country. In response to two fatal police shootings of black men this past week in Louisiana and Minnesota, groups in both those states have attempted similar shutdowns.

Despite the turmoil in Memphis Sunday night, no one was arrested and no one was injured, police said.

"(It"s been) very peaceful so far," Memphis Police Department Deputy Director Mike Ryall said. "Our main goal here is that no one get hurt. They definitely have a right to voice their opinion. I came through and everyone was polite."

Passengers stepped out of their cars after Black Lives Matter protesters blocked traffic on I-40 Sunday evening in Memphis.(Photo: Submitted by Tim Allen)

Mayor Jim Strickland said that despite the peaceful nature, the protest was still illegal.

"I appreciate the fact that they"ve remained peaceful," he said. "But part of the conversations that we are going to have going forward, we have to have protests in a legal way. And stopping traffic on the interstate is not legal."

This all began a little before 6 p.m. in front of FedExForum, as about 200 people, nominally associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, gathered to protest the two killings by police. Many shouted slogans or waved placards.

"I"m just tired of the senseless killings of black people. That fact that I have two sons, that hits me close to home," said Porshia Scruggs, who came from West Memphis with her sons Isaiah, 7, and Isaac, 6.

The event was somewhat chaotic and disorganized, as people just shouted through bullhorns. One man shouted that the killing of five police officers in Dallas was just a hoax.

Then, a little before 6:30, the crowd started walking north on Third Street as police blocked off streets to prevent any accidents. The crowd soon turned west and when it reached Front, began walking up the on-ramp to I-40.

Police quickly mobilized to try to stop anyone else from going toward the bridge, but by then the crowd had swelled and several hundred were already on I-40.

Stephanie Cole was one of those standing at the on-ramp who didn"t get to walk up to the bridge.

"I have a 16-year-old son. He just got his (driver"s) license. I held off letting him get a license just (because of) this," she said, referencing shootings of motorists after being pulled over by police. "You"re afraid if he gets pulled over, he"s not going to act right. Or the officer is not going to act right."

Officers formed a line to keep the remaining protesters at bay. But around 6:45 p.m., a new group of protesters, spurred Downtown by social media and news reports, began walking up another ramp from Riverside Drive.

At that point, police relented and allowed those gathered on front to also walk up the on-ramp. Atop the ramp, police set up a blockade of both squad cars and officers to prevent the protesters from continuing to walk.

"I was told not to come," said Dealisia Brye, one of those who saw the protest unfold on social media. "I decided to come anyway. It"s peaceful and it"s beautiful."

The standoff lasted for more than three hours as the crowd continued to swell. Memphis police kept a stern but calm presence as some of the protesters attempted to stir up trouble. However, the vast majority of those gathered remained peaceful.

DeAnna Morris had just left her shift at Verizon and was heading back to West Memphis when she got stuck in the traffic. Yet she wasn"t too frustrated, she said.

"I think it"s good that they came together to protest. I do think they could"ve been a little bit more organized," she said, also adding that she didn"t approve of those who climbed on squad cars and the like. "It"s not a fun time. If we"re going to do this, be serious about it."

Ryall led the police response at the scene for most of the night, but as the standoff wore on, interim Director Mike Rallings appeared, wearing a Kevlar vest. He, Ryall and others spoke to some of the nominal leaders of the crowd, hoping to reach a resolution.

Then, after 8 p.m. the crowed started to thin out, with many leaving the bridge. However, the 150 or so who remained suddenly moved en masse toward the thin line of police officers.

That spooked the cops, one of whom suddenly appeared holding a tear gas gun. One of those nominal leaders tried to talk to the crowd over a squad car"s speaker, but that went nowhere. The situation soon eased as more of the protesters left the bridge.

However, many of those protesters didn"t go home, instead camping out at the end of the on-ramp near Front and the Memphis Cook Convention Center. By 9:30 or so, some protesters still remained on the bridge, linking arms in front of the police officers. But police in riot gear gathered on the bridge and began to move the demonstrators.

Rallings met with several of the protesters and spoke briefly afterward.

"The only thing I want in my city is peace. I think we recognize our young people are hurting. It"s time for talk," Rallings said. "But I want to hear what these young people have to say. Their voices will not be silent. We"re going to have to listen, we"re going to have to talk."

Still, Rallings also said the bridge shutdown was not the proper way to protest.

"Now, it ain"t what I wanted, I don"t want us to shut down a bridge. ... I"m with you, I"ll march with you. But we need to do it together, we need to have a dialogue, we need not to be shutting down (bridges)," he said. "The demonstration has been had. Now it"s time for the conversation."

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