Watch: DC Cops Respond to Violent Protesters with Tear Gas, Flash Bangs
Police officers in Washington, D.C. were forced to use tear gas and flashbangs in an attempt to get control of protesters. Protesters became violent while damaging police cars and attempting to loot a local Walmart.
Large groups of protesters gathered around various parts of DC to demonstrate against the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton. The young man died in a moped crash while fleeing from the police. On Friday, police officers spotted Hylton riding an electric scooter without a helmet and tried to pull him over, the CBS affiliate WUSA9 reported. Rather than stop, Hylton fled down an alley and crashed into a passing vehicle. Demonstrators claim that a police vehicle struck him instead.
As protester marched down the streets, they began to turn violent and began vandalizing police cars.
This is the @DCPoliceDept car that protesters attacked, smashing windows with a rock and a trash can. Several ppl who grew up with Koran described a pattern of harassment from local police, and his death seemed to flip open years of simmering resentment #dcprotestspic.twitter.com/EQxr69B2Cw
— Daniella Cheslow (@DaniellaCheslow) October 28, 2020
Protesters then tried to loot a local Walmart only to be met with a heavy police presence.
Moment a Walmart was looted in Washington DC ( @rawsmedia) pic.twitter.com/xnuo5o8kAx
— FJ News Reporter (@FJNewsReporter) October 28, 2020
Video of arrest made earlier inside Walmart. Had to leave as police pushed me away. #KaronHylton#JusticeforRondo#DCProtestspic.twitter.com/3AI8CwpeJ6
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) October 28, 2020
As the demonstrations escalated, DC Police began using tear gas and flashbangs in an attempt to control the crowds.
Tear gas has been deployed at dc 4th district #BlackLivesMatter#dmv#KaronHylton#dcprotest#dcprotests#blmprotest#BLM#HappeningNow#BLMDC#Breakingnews#ACAB#DC#WashingtonDC#Breakingnews#Breakingpic.twitter.com/OSRfOcgsNs
— RawsMedia (@rawsmedia) October 28, 2020
Activists documenting the protests themselves also captured the sound of the flashbangs going off. (sound at 50-second marker)
— Black Lives Matter DC (@DMVBlackLives) October 27, 2020
Earlier in the day, protesters smashed windows at the DC Police Headquarters as Hylton’s mother arrived with protesters asking for justice, Breitbart News reported.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at .