LITTLE ROCK, Ark — All day on Saturday, people gathered in downtown Little Rock to protest racial inequality and police brutality.
Minnesota's George Floyd is the spark for the most recent unrest in our nation. He died after a police officer had him restrained on the ground, and his knee on his neck.
Protesters in Little Rock walked on I-630 blocking traffic as they made their way to the Capitol steps. But the protests took a not-so-peaceful turn later that evening.
Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey confirmed graffiti on the capitol grounds and vandalism.
Damage was done to some downtown businesses and even a Little Rock police officer was injured working the protests.
She was hit with a flying object and was overcome by the chemical crowd dispersing techniques. She was taken to the hospital, and is now physically fine.
There were also other incidents unrelated to the protests that kept officers busy. Three fires broke out damaging businesses around Little Rock.
Also, two men were arrested for driving a car through the front entrance of the Target on University Avenue and stealing merchandise.
Despite all this, Scott and Humphrey continued the narrative that the protests were peaceful.
"Several protests throughout the day were peaceful and I will continue to stress how proud I am of the residents of Little Rock that walked the streets and even walked the interstates in a peaceful manner," said Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Junior.
"I believe that anybody that was involved with the destruction in property did not live here in the City of Little Rock," said Chief Humphrey.
Mayor Scott is already looking towards the future.
He posed the question, "Where do we go from here?"
His response - moving forward in unity.
"We will continue to focus on policies and procedures and public policy to increase educational achievement economic opportunity and public safety for all," said Scott.