No arrests made during peaceful protest in downtown Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Pittsburgh for the fourth straight day to protest in response to the death of a Minnesota man.

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Chauvin is accused of keeping his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.

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Pittsburgh Public Safety tweeted the group of protesters stopped in front of the Allegheny County Jail and sat down. Second Avenue was shut down by police in response.

Protesters sat in front of the jail for about an hour.

Around 6 p.m., they started moving again across the 10th Street Bridge and heading toward the South Side. They stopped and sat at the intersection of East Carson and 10th streets.

The crowd then made their way back into downtown and ended up back in Market Square where they started.

Investigators said there were no arrests and no incidents during Tuesday’s protest march.

Since Saturday, protests have happened each day in the Pittsburgh area. Thousands of protesters gathered in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood Monday afternoon.

It wasn’t until a few hours later when police said a small group of people split off from the peaceful protest and began to damage businesses in the area. Police said they started to throw rocks and other items at law enforcement, and smoke was thrown after officers gave numerous orders for them to disperse.

One protester who was in East Liberty Monday night wanted to share her experience after hours of successfully working with police to keep it peaceful. She said they made it very clear they were there for peace and not violence.

But around 7 p.m., as the curfew approached, the woman said everything changed. She told Channel 11 some peaceful protesters were wrongfully mistaken for agitators and force was used against them.

In the video she recorded, you can see police first throw a can of smoke toward the protesters. A popping sound is heard as the crowd scatters.

“It’s disgusting what happened,” the woman said. “Nobody had gone close to the police officers. No one had done anything, and that’s when they used tear gas. That’s when they started shooting rubber bullets at us."

City leaders said Monday night the videos don’t tell the whole story and that gas was never used. They argued it was only smoke after officers were targeted.

However, our partners at TribLIVE reported Tuesday that Pittsburgh police confirmed they did, in fact, use gas to disperse the crowd in East Liberty.

Pittsburgh protests: People gather in Market Square on fourth day of protests Pittsburgh protests: People gather in Market Square on fourth day of protests

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