GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Protests that started peacefully descended into rioting in downtown Grand Rapids Saturday night. Fireworks were set off, fires were started, windows smashed and a haze of tear gas was seen through parts of downtown Grand Rapids Saturday.
What how the evening unfolded in live video coverage from the evening:
See how the story unfolded:
12:06 - Reporters seeing things begin to quiet down, but people are still out on the streets.
11:50 - Dumpster on fire on Ionia.
11:21 - A dumpster has been set on fire at Fountain and Ionia Ave. Small fires are burning along the sidewalks. People are using street signs to smash the windows of a government building.
11:17 - A line of protesters is confronting a line of police as protesters throw metal trash bins toward officers.
10:15 - More tear gas has been deployed near the corner of Fulton and Ionia. A cloud is spreading through the next intersection.
11:13 - Blocks from the police department groups of protesters are still grouped in areas. Street signs are laying in the center of the street and explosions from fireworks can be heard.
11:07 - On Division the scene is mostly cleared of protesters. Barricades have been set up by police. Crowds have thinned out and only a small number of people are still there.
11:00 - GRPD Chief Eric Payne says this is very unacceptable. He says police have been tasked with bringing peace to the downtown area and will use whatever force is necessary to do so. Officers have used gas to disperse crowds and pockets of looting and vandalism have been observed.
10:57 - Some areas that were packed with people earlier are now much calmer.
10:45 - People are smashing windows of the GRPD station. A street sign was just thrown into the station.
10:37 - A fight has broken out amidst a group of protesters near the SOS building.
10:34 - People are setting off fireworks near the SOS building, which may have been what the earlier explosion was.
10:32 - There has been an explosion inside the SOS building. Some people are trying to set a banner on fire as they push it into the building through a window.
10:29 - Flash-bang grenades were deployed in front of the SOS and protesters are leaving the immediate area.
10:28 - A protester was breaking windows at the Secretary of State with a crowbar. They are also picking up concrete slabs and throwing them through windows.
10:27 - Commerce and Fulton police are in the intersection. Protesters are kneeling in front of them with their hands in the air.
10:24 - A person is injured on the ground at the corner of Division and Fulton. They are being treated by EMTs. Glass can be heard breaking in the area.
Some protesters are throwing rocks through windows of area stores.
10:11 - More tear gas is being deployed and officers are moving the crowds back.
10:10 - Someone with a fire extinguisher arrived to put the fire out shortly after it was set.
10:08 - A small fire was set near the Buffalo Wild Wings building on Fulton and Ionia near Back 40 Saloon. Windows have been broken in the area.
10:00 - In front of the police headquarters downtown officers have set up a barrier where they are circled around the front of the building. There are fewer people at the front of the station now where earlier protesters spray painted obscenities and other messages on the building.
9:58 - On Ionia Avenue protesters are verbally confronting officers. Police have lined up across the road and are keeping people from passing.
9:55 - Crowds are beginning to break up as people leave the area where the tear gas was deployed.
9:50 - Police have deployed tear gas canisters in downtown Grand Rapids to disperse the people taking part in what officers call an "unlawful assembly." No arrests have been made at this point.
Officers announced that they wanted people to disperse and shortly after tear gas was deployed.
Photos: Violence erupts in Grand Rapids after peaceful protest
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