LOS ANGELES _ More protests were underway Monday in Los Angeles as people continued to take to the streets to decry the police killing of George Floyd and other black Americans.
Floyd died May 25 after Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes while detaining him on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, and three other former officers were charged with aiding and abetting.
To commemorate Floyd's public viewing service, which was taking place Monday in Houston, four car processions were organized around Southern California. They departed from Leimert Park, Long Beach, Reseda and Santa Ana, and were scheduled to converge on downtown L.A. for a rally at First Street and Broadway.
Some of the processions were led by hearses. One car had the names of dozens of people killed by police written on its windshield, images on social media showed.
Several other demonstrations also were scheduled to take place downtown Monday, including a sit-in outside LAPD headquarters and a protest outside City Hall.
Floyd's death has become a rallying point for many who say police abuses against black people have persisted unchecked for too long, prompting sweeping protests across the U.S. and elsewhere around the world.
In Los Angeles, those demonstrations remained peaceful over the weekend.
They included a huge march in Hollywood that drew an estimated 20,000 people Sunday and a caravan of motorcycles, demonstrators and cowboys that made its way through Compton.
With the continued lack of violence, the National Guard pulled out of the Los Angeles area a week after being deployed.
A small number of units will be stationed nearby until Wednesday "to provide emergency support if needed," Mayor Eric Garcetti said Sunday in a statement.
"I'm proud that our city has been peaceful this week _ and that our residents are leading a powerful movement to make Los Angeles more just, equitable and fair for black Angelenos, communities of color and all of our workers, youth and families," Garcetti said.
Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators were arrested last week, many for violating curfew rules or for failing to disperse after the LAPD declared their protest unlawful. Faced with growing criticism over the arrests, top Los Angeles law enforcement officials said Sunday they would not pursue criminal or financial penalties against the protesters.
