(See below for live updates throughout the night)
Organizers with "Detroit Will Breathe" held a public tribunal that began about 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Hart Plaza near the Detroit River to discuss the Detroit Police Department's treatment of people involved in demonstrations.
Leaders Tristan Taylor and Nakia-Renne Wallace want all charges and citations against protesters since the demonstrations began to be dropped. Speakers recounted their treatment by Detroit police and criticized Mayor Mike Duggan and Chief James Craig.
This comes after George Floyd, a Black man from Minneapolis, died May 25 after then-police officer Derek Chauvin, now charged with second-degree murder, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Floyd's death sparked national movements against racism, injustice and police brutality.
Four days later, on May 29, protests in Detroit began. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets during the first three nights, along with arresting 224 people from the city and surrounding metropolitan areas. On the fifth day, protesters broke the 8 p.m. curfew and 127 people were arrested.
Since then, protests have ended peacefully and the curfew has been discontinued.
Follow the Free Press coverage here:
More: Public tribunal to be held on Detroit police response to marches
More: Protesters demand end to police surveillance technology
More: Protesters detail what it was like to be arrested in Detroit demonstrations
10:12 p.m.: Tribunal ends
The tribunal ended peacefully with announcements from organizers. There will not be a march Sunday because of Father's Day.
9:07 p.m.: BAMN speaker calls out leaders
A speaker from By Any Means Necessary called Duggan, Craig and Detroit police officers racist. He said Duggan needs to resign for allowing police to use tear gas.
He wants protesters to march in the streets tonight to encourage others to join in pleading for Duggan to step down. He also expressed his discomfort that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer allowed restaurants and bars to reopen.
"We need to hit the streets," he said. "Our national demand is jail all killer cops. We need to take matters into our own hands. A badge is not a license to kill."
9:04 p.m.: No march scheduled for Sunday
Organizer Tristan Taylor said there will not be a march on Sunday because of Father's Day, making it the first time in 23 days "Detroit Will Breathe" is taking a day off.
8:45 p.m.: Protesters continue to claim DPD wanted control on June 2
One woman, who was arrested in two of the first five nights of protests, gave an experience of being arrested and processed. On June 2, she was separated from the rest of the group and did not end up at Little Caesars Arena for processing like others.
"In being held overnight, I was able to watch the treatment of all kinds of women for non-protest reasons," she said. "Again, this isn't a fad. This is about a fight for social equity.
"(A 60-year-old woman) told me about her heart issues and medications and arthritis. I realized when she was taken for processing that she was asked about her medical history by the intake office. She talked about her shoulder, breathing and heart condition. The officer recording the information didn't take into account she could hardly stand. She had to slump on the counter. She was not doing well and was there in the middle of the pandemic.
"There were all these women –– three black women and one white woman. They were worn down by this (expetive) system."
8:25 p.m.: Protester put in ambulance speaks
Following the June 2 arrests, one protester was put into an ambulance. He spoke at the tribunal and described his experience.
He said the zip tie around his wrists weren't removed until he got to the hospital. He added that police officers continuously questioned his gender.
"Do you have male or female genitalia?" the speaker said a police officer asked him after he already explained he identifies as a male.
8:20 p.m.: Speaker outraged at June 2 arrests
After the video was played, a speaker from Ann Arbor came up to describe the events of the June 2 arrests. She was frustrated with the way police officers, including Craig, took a knee after arresting 127 people.
"I can't think of anything more disrespectful," the speaker said. "Nobody deserved the treatment we got. This is an (expletive) systemic issue. It's not just DPD; it's police across the country."
8:05 p.m.: Video shown to protesters
A video was displayed shortly after the tribunal started up again, describing the events that have taken place during the Detroit protests since May 29. Most people, however, couldn't see the video since sunset isn't expected until 9:15 p.m.
8:00 p.m.: Tribunal restarts
After about 40 minutes of being on break, the tribunal started again at 8 p.m. A protester self-described as a medic is speaking out against Detroit police officers.
7:20 p.m.: Tribunal takes break
After nearly an hour of speaking, Wallace called for speakers to take a 10-minute break. They're expected to show a video on the subject of police brutality soon.
As of 7:50 p.m., protesters were still on break.
7:12 p.m.: Speaker wants Duggan to resign
Discussing the June 3 arrests, one speaker elaborated on her experience and rebuked all Detroit police officers. The speaker explained the situation has nothing to do with "one bad apple," rather the entire staff.
"They made us get down face first in the middle of the road," the speaker said. "I heard one cop say to another, 'Send a van to Gratiot, preferably with an officer driving without a mask.' They were like, no, we're the cops, we have power over you, so we are going to make sure we breathe on you during this pandemic. That wasn't one shitty cop.
"The police do not work for us. They never did and they never will. That's why we need to support and fight for any demands and reforms that limit the power of the police and their ability to police."
The speaker called for Duggan to step down from his position as mayor.
"He's responsible for the police and what (police) did to everybody," the speaker said. "He's responsible for all of it."
7:05 p.m.: Another speaker describes arrest
Another speaker explained what it was like to be arrested June 2. The police buses that protesters were put on after being arrested didn't have air conditioning. The windows were closed. The speaker said the bus ride lasted about 45 minutes.
His hands were bleeding from the zip tie around his wrists, so he asked a police officer for handcuffs. The officer, the speaker said, responded to his request by saying, "They've got corona."
Even at Little Caesars Arena, protesters kept chanting, "No justice, no peace."
"They were trying to abuse their authority, as they always do," he said. "I saw people getting slammed on the ground. I lost a shoe. While they were talking down, they were saying, 'Shut up before we spray you again.' I didn't shut up, so they took my mask off and sprayed me again. Then they had the nerve to pour water down my face.
"You can't shoot me, put a Band-Aid on it and call it even. It don't work like that."
6:40 p.m.: Organizer Tristan Taylor introduced as 'political prisoner'
Wallace's co-organizer, Tristan Taylor, was introduced to the crowd at the tribunal shortly after 6:30 p.m. He detailed what it was like to be arrested June 3 on Gratiot and taken to Little Caesars Arena.
Taylor said police officers mocked him after he was released.
"Instead of being people who are on the side of victims of righteous anger, they're looking to pick a fight," he said.
6:15 p.m.: Mayor Mike Duggan is 'not my daddy,' can't stop protests
Protesters have been assembling in the city for 23 consecutive days. The third speaker detailed the process of being arrested and taken to Little Caesars Arena for processing earlier this month.
The fourth speaker, Jae Bass, is a Cass Technical High graduate and Michigan State University student. He said he's been protesting every day for his daughter.
"No amount of money, no amount of success is ever going to protect her as long as she has that dark skin I gave her," Bass said. "It's going to take a lot of societal changes that's only accessible by white privilege. As a father, I can't sit around and wait for those changes."
He said the police system was made to keep Black people in jail, but he's committed to delivering justice in the "biggest social movement in the world." Bass said Mayor Mike Duggan and Detroit Police Chief James Craig were only committed to silencing people, using the 8 p.m. curfew, which is no longer in effect, as an example.
"It sounds like control," he said. "The problem is this. Mike Duggan is not my daddy, so he can't control me. They're trying to protest against our protest by setting a curfew."
5:55 p.m.: 'Nothing I could do to get my daughter safe'
After the first speaker preached for an end to community policing, the second speaker, who said she is a lifelong resident of Detroit, said she supports all movements against systemic racism and police brutality.
She brought her 13-year-old daughter to one of the first protests in Detroit. As nightfall came, she noticed the energy began to shift. Police showed up in riot gear. Drones were flying above the group.
"Out of nowhere, we saw smoke and heard a loud bang," she said. "I grabbed my daughter very tightly. When it was time to run, our eyes began to burn. It became increasingly difficult for us to breathe. How many people, before they die, say, 'I can't breathe?' There was nothing I could do to get my daughter to a safe place. There was complete chaos. It was a war zone in my own city."
Her daughter, she said, learned the reality of "what can happen if you show up and stand up." She's become angry over the recent days reflecting on her experience and wants tactics from the police to change.
"We deserve so much more than what they've given us, and we demand change," she said. "Make a lot of noise. Don't rest until change comes. Power to the people."
5:45 p.m.: 'Get your knee off our necks'
A few hundred people are gathered at Hart Plaza, some of whom are watching the activity in an underground amphitheater from above. A group can be seen holding a paper sign that reads, "Get your knee off our necks." This statement references the actions taken by Derek Chauvin that led to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
5:35 p.m.: Why protesters are holding public tribunal
To start the tribunal, organizer Nakia-Renne Wallace explained the reasoning behind "Detroit Will Breathe" and its decision to hold the event. She said police responded to the protests with excessive force and even brutality in some cases.
By implementing the 8 p.m. curfew, she said it was the mayor's goal to "stomp on the constitutional rights of Americans" to protest and march.
"The purpose of this tribunal is to expose this excessive and dangerous use of force against citizens," Wallace said. "Over the course of this tribunal, you will see footage of officers hunting and attacking people. You will see bruises and scars. You will hear testimonies from victims about their vicious attacks from DPD. You will hear about the bullying, taunting, the unprofessional matter in which officers cursed at, charged at and assaulted people for no reason at all."
5:30 p.m.: Protesters gather, tribunal begins
While the public tribunal was scheduled to start at 5 p.m., the organizers didn't get the event going until 5:30 p.m. Leaders of the event at Hart Plaza put up a projector screen to display videos of what they are calling police brutality, plus arrests and other footage.
There's a group of motorcyclists outside of the event, but it's unclear why they showed up at the tribunal.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
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