Protesters along Windsor's riverfront on May 31, 2020. (Photo by Adelle Loiselle)Protesters along Windsor's riverfront on May 31, 2020. (Photo by Adelle Loiselle)
Windsor

City of Detroit dismisses tickets issued during George Floyd protests

The City of Detroit has announced it will dismiss the majority of tickets issued during some of its George Floyd protests.

Protests erupted in cities across the U.S. and around the world after Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota when Constable Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for almost eight minutes.

In Detroit, hundreds of protesters filled downtown streets in protest on May 31, kicking off nightly demonstrations where hundreds of people were arrested. Most of those arrested lived outside the city.

The city was under a curfew order at the time requiring people to stay off the streets after 8 p.m. unless it was to see a doctor, go to a pharmacy, or a grocery store.

Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia wrote in a statement released Tuesday morning that the Law Department and Police Department have reviewed videotape and other evidence from the demonstrations, and decided to dismiss most of the misdemeanor tickets issued between May 31 and June 2.

"Citations written on June 1 were never submitted to the court -- many protesters were not ticketed at all, despite being out after curfew," he wrote.

Some cases will be still be pursued in court. While protesters were peaceful for the most part, there were clashes with police. On May 31, some protesters taunted officers and threw objects at them. More than 60 people were arrested.

On May 29, a 21-year-old Eastpointe man died after shots were fired into a vehicle by an unknown assailant. Two other people were injured during a demonstration on June 28 after climbing onto a moving police SUV.

There were numerous protests in Windsor as well. Those demonstrations were peaceful and resulted in no arrests.

Read More Local Stories