KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, residents began picking up the pieces Monday morning after a weekend of protests and civil unrest.
Country Club Plaza will remain closed after hundreds gathered over the weekend nearby to peacefully protest, demonstrate and hold conversations surrounding the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Despite good intentions, protests turned to civil unrest both Saturday and Sunday night, resulting in vandalism, destruction, looting and even some injuries.
Protesters hurled objects at police, and police returned blows with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Businesses on the Plaza were left with broken windows and spray painted messages.
We are seeing a lot of graffiti on Main Street leftover from Sunday’s demonstration. Among the many F-bombs, there are messages like “I can’t breathe,” “No justice no peace,” “RIP Big Floyd.” pic.twitter.com/mywxJiUkPl
— Charlie Keegan (@CharlieKeegan41) June 1, 2020
The Plaza was part of a curfew issued by Mayor Quinton Lucas from 8 p.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday to try and prevent further destruction of property and injuries to those involved.
KCPD, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri National Guard and several other area jurisdictions combined to attempt to maintain control in the areas around the protest and enforce the curfew.
.@kcpolice beginning to remove yellow tape around the @ThePlazaKC. All entrances had been blocked. Curfew ends at 6am. @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/XJRMgahPzm
— Taylor Hemness (@taylorhemness) June 1, 2020
Crowds finally cleared in the early hours of Monday morning, and that's when community members got to work picking up the pieces.
Volunteers began collecting trash left behind by the crowds and cleaning up as early as 1 a.m.
Met Jonathan Hanes early this morning - since about 1AM, he’s been throwing away bottles, debris and milk jugs from last night’s protest - the signs that were left in the park, he’s placing them around the fountain pic.twitter.com/4FHSIH2rhP
— Rae Daniel (@RAEtheReporter) June 1, 2020
As the sun came up, more and more people joined together to clean up.
We've seen about 20 people start to pick up some trash throughout the park and along Main St. and Emmanuel Cleaver II Blvd pic.twitter.com/hBxNl4g6hk
— Rae Daniel (@RAEtheReporter) June 1, 2020
KC Parks employees began scrubbing graffiti off of Mill Park around 8 a.m. Monday. They used a chemical mixture and carefully replaced signs when they were done.
.@KCMOParks says this chemical mixture removes graffiti pretty quickly. They’ll replace the signs after the sidewalk is clear. @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/cBtRz3aEf1
— Taylor Hemness (@taylorhemness) June 1, 2020
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
