US

Here Are 5 Times People Rioted Over Police-Related Incidents Before All The Facts Were Out

(David Ryder/Getty Images)

Varun Hukeri General Assignment & Analysis Reporter
Font Size:

The United States has been experiencing waves of ongoing civil unrest across the country following the deaths of George Floyd and other predominantly black people in police-related incidents this year.

The majority of demonstrations have been nonviolent and lawful but the country is facing heightened risk of political violence and instability, according to a report released earlier this month by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. There have been 637 riots between May 26 and Sept. 12 along with a subsequent spike in violent crime.

CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 21: Police officers face off with protesters on the I-85 (Interstate 85) during protests in the early hours of September 21, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The protests began last night, following the fatal shooting of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott by a police officer at an apartment complex near UNC Charlotte. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Police officers face off with protesters in Charlotte, North Carolina (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Some of the largest riots so far have taken place in cities where police-related incidents led to fatal outcomes. In a number of instances, people heard the news of a police shooting and immediately reacted with violence and rioting before the facts were even out.

George Floyd

The lethal interaction between Floyd and Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin took place May 25 and circulated widely on social media after a Facebook video was uploaded May 26.

Minneapolis Police Department Chief Medaria Arradondo fired Chauvin and the three other officers involved in Floyd’s death May 26, The New York Times reported. But the official police account had inconsistencies and some of the information was not confirmed — Arradondo called for the FBI to investigate.

Civil unrest began to grow in Minneapolis that same night and escalated May 27 as demonstrations turned violent. Rioters looted stores and set buildings less than two days after the video of Floyd’s death had been released. Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz referred to the riots as an “extremely dangerous situation” and said nearby residents should leave, NBC News reported.

TOPSHOT - Protesters gather in front of a liquor store in flames near the Third Police Precinct on May 28, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during a protest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes. - A police precinct in Minnesota went up in flames late on May 28 in a third day of demonstrations as the so-called Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seethed over the shocking police killing of a handcuffed black man. The precinct, which police had abandoned, burned after a group of protesters pushed through barriers around the building, breaking windows and chanting slogans. A much larger crowd demonstrated as the building went up in flames. (Photo by kerem yucel / AFP) (Photo by KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters gather in front of a liquor store in flames in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)

Hennepin County prosecutor Mike Freeman charged Chauvin with 3rd degree murder and manslaughter May 29 after nearly three days of rioting. The 3rd Police Precinct building was set on fire and the total cost of the riots was $500 million with roughly 1,500 properties damaged, according to the Star Tribune.

Jacob Blake

Footage of a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin shooting Blake seven times in the back Aug. 23 quickly circulated across social media. The officers involved were placed on administrative leave but authorities had not yet released details about the incident, the Associated Press reported.

Unrest grew in Kenosha overnight as police officers in riot gear arrived on the scene only hours later to disperse a crowd of protestors. The demonstrations turned violent Aug. 24 when rioters hit a police officer in the head with a brick. (RELATED: ‘There’s Just No Words’: Cleanup In Kenosha, Wisconsin, Continues Following Monday Riot)

Businesses were damaged and vehicles were set on fire as riots continued, the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal reported. The Wisconsin Department of Justice released information about the officers Aug. 26 and added that Blake “had a knife in his possession,” Fox 6 reported.

KENOSHA, WI - AUGUST 24: Demonstrators chant in front of a burning truck on August 24, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This is the second night of rioting after the shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, on August 23. Blake was shot multiple times in the back by Wisconsin police officers after attempting to enter into the drivers side of a vehicle. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Demonstrators chant in front of a burning truck in Kenosha, Wisconsin (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Kenosha Professional Police Association attorney Brendan Matthews said there were “wholly inaccurate” perceptions of the shooting in a statement Aug. 28 and slammed rioters for demonstrating before the facts were out, Kenosha News reported. But by then the riots had already been occurring for nearly four days, costing the city $2 million in property damages.

Minneapolis suicide

An unidentified black man shot and killed himself Aug. 26 in front of a crowd in downtown Minneapolis right before police officers were about to detain him, the Star Tribune reported. Reports of the incident circulated in the city and a group of initially peaceful protestors began to assemble in the center of the city.

Police released city surveillance footage of the incident roughly 90 minutes after the suicide which demonstrated that it was not a police-involved shooting, the New York Post reported. Police also said the man was a homicide suspect and Chief Arradondo said “people needed to know the facts” before civil unrest began once again in the city, The New York Times reported.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 30: Demonstrators participate in a candlelight vigil on August 30, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The community gathered in the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Ave for a candlelight vigil to honor Jacob Blake, 29, who was shot on August 23. Video filmed of the incident appears to show Blake shot multiple times in the back by Wisconsin police officers while attempting to enter the drivers side of a vehicle. The 29-year-old Blake was undergoing surgery for a severed spinal cord, shattered vertebrae and severe damage to organs, according to the family attorneys in published accounts. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Demonstrators participate in a candlelight vigil in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

A growing protest in downtown Minneapolis turned violent the night of the suicide as preliminary reports from police indicated that shoplifting and damage to businesses had taken place, according to The New York Times. Democratic Minneapolis mayor requested the deployment of the state’s National Guard and a city-wide curfew was imposed.

Daniel Prude

A March 30 police incident in Rochester, New York led to Prude’s death after he was allegedly naked and claimed he had the coronavirus while smashing storefront windows. Initially peaceful protestors gathered outside the Rochester Public Safety Building after Prude’s family and attorney released body cam footage of the encounter Sept. 2, The Washington Post reported.

Democratic Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren suspended seven police officers involved in Prude’s death Sept. 3 and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the investigation was being moved to a grand jury the next day, according to The New York Times.

Demonstrations turned violent Sept. 5 according to multiple reports and an unlawful assembly was declared as Rochester police officers deployed crowd control munitions. Rioters could be seen surrounding a restaurant, throwing chairs and breaking glasses on tables outside, according to video footage posted online.

TOPSHOT - Protesters use umbrellas and homemade shields in an attempt to protect themselves from pepper,"less-lethal" munitions and teargas in Rochester, New York, on September 5, 2020, on the fourth night of protest following the release of video showing the death of Daniel Prude. - Prude, a 41-year-old African American who had mental health issues, died of asphyxiation after police arrested him on March 23, 2020, in Rochester. (Photo by Maranie R. STAAB / AFP) (Photo by MARANIE R. STAAB/AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters use umbrellas and homemade shields in in Rochester, New York (Maranie R. Staab/AFP via Getty Images)

Rochester Police Department Chief La’Ron Singletary and his staff resigned Sept. 8 amid growing scrutiny. He slammed the “mischaracterization and the politicization” of the incident and said the ongoing civil unrest in Rochester was “not based on facts.”

Ricardo Munoz

Munoz was shot and killed by police in Lancaster, Pennsylvania during an incident Sept. 13 after police received a call about a domestic incident.

More than 100 protesters gathered near a Lancaster police station only hours after the incident was reported and the situation quickly evolved into a riot. Police used tear gas to disperse growing crowds after rioters began throwing objects at police officers and into the police station.

A police statement released after demonstrations had already begun included body cam footage of the incident which depicted Munoz attempting to break into his mother’s house. He then began chasing an officer with a knife when he was shot several times.

Demonstrators in Philadelphia after the shooting of Ricardo Munoz in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (Kaylee Greenlee, Daily Caller News Foundation)

Lancaster Police Department Chief Jarrad Berkihiser defended the officer who shot Munoz in a statement Sept. 16 and argued that police officers “can’t always wait for backup” when faced with an imminent threat, WGAL reported. (RELATED: Bail For Accused Rioters In Lancaster, PA, Set At $1,000,000)

The number of people arrested during the ongoing riots has grown and the city has reportedly lost thousands of dollars in damages following several days of rioting, according to WHTM.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel