Police: projectiles were fired at Athens demonstrators

Athens-Clarke County Police are bracing for more weekend demonstrations, with a Saturday protest planned by the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement. It’s set to start at 2 o’clock tomorrow in front of City Hall. A rally last weekend drew more than two thousand people to downtown Athens and resulted in 19 arrests.

Athens-Clarke County Police are, for the first time, acknowledging that projectiles were fired at some of the demonstrators who took part in last weekend's protests in downtown Athens: police used teargas to disperse the remnants of a crowd early Monday morning and now say they also fired bean-bags at three of the demonstrators who threw the tear gas canisters back at police. There were no injuries reported. 

From the Athens-Clarke County Police Dept…

The purpose of this addendum is to update and correct information provided on June 1, 2020 concerning the Athens-Clarke County Police Department response to the events of May 31, 2020. The initial information relayed to executive command after the event indicated that tear gas was the only munition deployed during the operation. As a result, the initial media release indicated that only tear gas was used. However, during after-action reviews of the event, the Special Response Team Commander clarified that “bean bag” and “sponge” rounds were also used during the event. Specifically, “bean bag” or “sponge” rounds were used as a defensive measure against three individuals who appeared to be actively throwing gas canisters back at officers. None of these three individuals remained at the scene or were arrested during the event.

**End of Addendum**

May 31 Protest Operation and Police Action

After learning of planned peaceful protests scheduled for May 31 in the Athens Downtown area, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD) developed an operational plan. ACCPD’s overarching goal was to provide a safe environment for citizens and participants to exercise rights guaranteed under the 1st Amendment to peacefully protest, while at the same time, protecting life and property, and preventing and responding to criminal activity.

The operational plan was designed to ensure the safety of participants and residents, manage pedestrian and vehicle traffic, protect life and property and deter criminal activity. Primary focus was placed on protecting protest participants’ constitutional rights and ensuring those rights were not diminished unless criminal activity or other justifiable public safety hazards existed.

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department executed this operational plan beginning at about 2:00 pm on the evening of May 31. Between 5:00 pm and approximately 7:30 pm, groups of people assembled, marched between various Downtown locations, and peacefully protested. However, during this time period, officers noticed that the protestors were being infiltrated by a number of individuals who possessed weapons and other instruments commonly used by extremist during violent protests. This suggested that these individuals intended to turn the previously peaceful protest violent.

Upon the armed group’s arrival, many of the original protestors began to leave and a group of roughly 200 protestors, many of whom appeared to belong to a violent extremist group, remained. Based on officer observations, ACCPD believed that a shift from peaceful protest to violent protest was imminent. ACCPD requested an Emergency Declaration and curfew for the Downtown area. The Athens-Clarke County Assistant Manager approved and signed the Emergency Declaration which included a curfew for the Athens Downtown area between 9:00 pm on May 31 and 5:00 am on June 1.

In accordance with the Emergency Declaration and curfew, ACCPD officers began clearing all people from the Downtown area shortly after 9:00 pm. By approximately 11:30 pm, all people had voluntarily left the Downtown area with the exception of a group of 200 people who had assembled and blocked the roadway at the intersection of College and Broad Street.

Shortly before midnight, officers used bullhorns to notify the group that they were unlawfully assembled in violation of the Emergency Declaration and to disburse or face arrest. This order was repeated numerous times. In response to these orders, some of the group members left as directed. However, a group of them remained and locked arms in the middle of the street in a defensive posture, refusing to leave. Shortly after midnight, ACCPD officers deployed gas into the crowd. This resulted in many more of the group members leaving. However, 19 remained and were taken into custody without additional force and without further incident. Thirteen of those arrested maintained residences in the AthensClarke County area and six gave residences that were outside the Athens-Clarke County regional area.