Huntsville police Chief Mark McMurray and Madison County Sheriff Kevin Turner have defended their decision to release tear gas into a crowd of protesters on the downtown courthouse square Monday evening.
And, the sheriff said he would take the same action again if necessary to protect the county’s residents, law enforcement or property.
Before Monday’s activities had ended, police had released chemical agents on the courthouse square and in Big Spring Park, deployed a canister of smoke in a crowd across the street from the courthouse, fired rubber bullets at a protester, confiscated a gun, and arrested at least two people.
After a peaceful protest officially ended when the event permit expired at 6 p.m., police say, rocks were thrown at officers and some people in a crowd in front of the Madison County Courthouse breached police barricades.
AL.com was streaming live video on Facebook when Sheriff Turner and Chief Mark McMurray ordered the crowd to disperse just before 7:30 p.m. The video feed didn’t appear to show any protesters assaulting police, though the demonstrators can be heard shouting at officers.
[If you can’t see the video above, click here]
The events in Huntsville followed several days of protests and unrest nationally and a day after a protest in Birmingham turned violent overnight. More than a dozen buildings were damaged, and news reporters were assaulted.
Huntsville police said they didn’t have any reports of serious damage in the city, though a trash can was set on fire in Big Spring Park, and chairs and trash cans were overturned across town at Bridge Street Town Centre -- a popular outdoor shopping district -- later in the evening.
[Related: Huntsville police called out for ‘inexcusable’ behavior]
As Turner and McMurray reflected on their decision to deploy tear gas and other non-lethal weapons, they said they were trying to prevent rioting or other violence by dispersing the crowd before the sun set.
Although Huntsville doesn’t have a curfew like some other cities, McMurray said after the protesters refused multiple commands to leave the area they were “in violation of a lawful order” and blocking a roadway.
“That's called disorderly conduct,” the chief said. “It's called inciting a riot. There were multiple charges we could have put on over 100 people. We chose not to do that.”
Instead of arresting everyone in the crowd and risking a physical confrontation, the sheriff said, he and the chief decided the safer move was to release the gas.
“One canister of spray is a whole lot better than 40, 50, 60 cops having to fight a crowd to try to get them in handcuffs,” Sheriff Kevin Turner said. “It sent them on their way. We dispersed the crowd and I felt like it ended in a peaceful way.”
Chief McMurray described the tear gas as a “soft chemical agent.” He said police had a stronger version of the chemicals but chose not to use them. AL.com reporters covering the protest were exposed to the gas and described a burning sensation in their eyes and throats.
Another protest tonight
McMurray and Turner reflected on the events during an interview with local news reporters on Tuesday afternoon. At the same time, their departments were preparing for another protest against police brutality, which is scheduled for this evening in Big Spring Park. The local chapter of the NAACP is hosting the protest at 5 p.m.
The Madison County Courthouse will close two hours early, at 3 p.m. Brent Patterson, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said streets around the courthouse and down to Clinton Avenue will be closed after 6 p.m. for the protesters to march peacefully. The event is scheduled to end at 8 p.m.
The chief and sheriff said they hope and expect the event will remain peaceful. The sheriff said his top responsibility is ensuring the safety of the people and property of Madison County and its cities, like Huntsville.
If necessary, McMurray said he would take similar actions as those by police Monday night.
“If they cross that barricade, we are gonna do everything in our power,” he said. “We are not gonna sit back and let somebody vandalize our courthouse. That’s not gonna happen.”
As a precaution for future events, the city on Tuesday removed rocks from the landscaping around the courthouse square. Windows at some downtown businesses were boarded up in advance of today’s protest, Huntsville TV station WHNT News-19 reported.
A peaceful event
The showdown between police and the group of between 100-200 protesters on Monday evening capped off what had been a non-violent protest against police brutality and in memory of George Floyd, a black man killed by a white officer in Minneapolis.
More than 1,000 people gathered at Big Spring Park around 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon for prayers, speeches, singing and an eight-minute period of silence to represent the time Floyd was pinned under the knee of a police officer last week. The peaceful protest moved onto the courthouse square as demonstrators chanted, held signs and marched through the streets.
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The protest, organized by an Oakwood University student, was slated to end at 6 p.m. — the time at which the event permit was scheduled to expire. But even after 6 p.m. passed and the overwhelming majority of protesters — about 75 to 80 percent by the police chief’s estimate — had left, a crowd remained on the square.
Those who remained, McMurray said, were “agitators” and “law breakers,” separate from the peaceful protesters.
“These people were not Oakwood students,” the chief said of those who remained downtown after the protest officially ended.
McMurray praised the event’s organizers and those who protested peacefully. The chief and the sheriff acknowledged the emotion and pain felt by those who are protesting in the wake of Floyd’s death.
Brendan Lewis, the 21-year-old Oakwood student who organized the protest, told AL.com he hopes their peaceful message won’t be drowned about by what unfolded later in the evening.
Lewis said he hopes Monday night’s events in Huntsville won’t deter people from protesting racial injustice and police brutality.
“Go out in the community and make your voices heard,” he said. “This is a tipping point for America. If we really want to see change, now is the time.”
Lewis, like the overwhelming majority of the demonstrators, left the area before police forced the crowd to disperse. He expressed concerns about what he saw on live video as police deployed tear gas.
Tear gas
When police began breaking up the crowd outside the courthouse, officers carrying batons lined up and pushed the crowd to the other side of the street. Police then released a canister of smoke into the crowd.
“And then they realized it was smoke and they came back at our officers and drew a line in the sand and said we're not going any further,” Chief McMurray said. “So Sheriff and I had to decide are we gonna put them in jail or are we gonna go the next step.”
Police advance on the last of the protesters in downtown Huntsville on June 1, 2020 at a protest over the death of George Floyd. Moments later, the police fired teargas and the crowd fled.
That’s when police released tear gas into the crowd, which was in front of the AL.com building on the courthouse square.
Nearly all of the protesters left after the tear gas was released. But police continued pushing one small group down Jefferson Street. The group broke up after a brief standoff with police at Clinton Avenue — a block north of the courthouse square.
Police said a second group ran into Big Spring Park, which borders the west side of the square, where one of the people set fire to a garbage can. McMurray said the group refused to leave and became “confrontational” with officers. Johnson said the group was playing loud music and taunting officers. One person threw bottles and rocks at the officers, Johnson said, so police eventually released gas and fired rubber bullets at the man.
Later in the evening, people overturned trash cans and chairs at the Bridge Street shopping district, police said. Police didn’t release information about arrests at Bridge Street.
In downtown, police arrested two local people. One man was charged with obstruction of government operations and criminal trespassing, according to the sheriff’s office. A second man was charged with possession of a firearm at a demonstration, records show. McMurray said police were pursuing a warrant against a third man who brought a gun to the rally. Police took the man’s gun but decided not to arrest him at the scene.
Turner and McMurray said they were proud of how their officers handled the situation on Monday evening.
“As sheriff of this county, my main responsibly is the safety of Madison County and the citizens and the city of Huntsville,” Turner said. “We wanted to make sure this ended in a safe manner.
"That is our first priority — to make sure everybody goes home safe and make sure our community is safe,” the sheriff added. “We all did a great job.”
This story was updated at 10:04 a.m. to show the Madison County Courthouse will close early today ahead of tonight’s protest in downtown Huntsville. Streets will be closed after 6 p.m.
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