KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department did not immediately enforce an 8 p.m. curfew for protesters, but it quickly became an "unlawful assembly" as the crowd gathered began throwing water bottles at officers.
As the curfew for entertainment districts and parks went into effect, hundreds of protesters remained in the Plaza and Midtown area.
The demonstrators gathered for a third night of protests against police brutality after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
KCPD Capt. Dave Jackson said the department “would take this all night long” if the protest remained peaceful.
However, around 8:30 p.m., some of those gathered in the crowd threw water bottles at police officers.
Officers responded with tear gas and rubber bullets and shortly after declared the protest an unlawful assembly.
At least five people had been detained, according to 41 Action News crews on the scene.
Shortly after 9 p.m. Jackson reported officers had deployed three rounds of tear gas and used rubber bullets as those gathered continued to throw water bottles and rocks at them.
Jackson said some had begun to use dumpsters and plastic barriers as cover, and officers were working to remove those.
41 Action News crews also reported a large group of protesters marching down Main Street back toward the Plaza.
KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas commented as the curfew went into effect, saying he was happy with how protests had gone earlier in the day.
“A voice is not a rock thrown at somebody,” Lucas said at the time, urging protesters to continuing using their voices in a peaceful manner.
The mayor said he is appreciative of protesters who wore masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lucas said he plans to talk to Dr. Rex Archer of the Kansas City Health Department this week about mitigation strategies.
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