South Florida Protesters Vow To Keep Marching Until 'Real Change' Achieved
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - For the third weekend in a row, protesters took to South Florida streets to call for police reform in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died while in police custody.
At around 5 p.m., demonstrators in Miami were marching near NW 20th Street and NW 3rd Avenue.
Traffic on I-95 near downtown was shut down earlier in the day because of protests. Other area highways and highway ramps were also affected.
Protesters marched from Downtown Miami to Little Haiti. While five miles away from their starting point, protesters clashed with a driver.
The man yelled at protesters to move. They briefly blocked him and then moved. A Miami police officer encouraged them to not get in harm's way.
"Let me do my job. If he comes back, I will address it. There's no need for all of you to rush the car. Let me put myself in danger for you," the Miami police officer said.
Police could be seen on bicycles, accompanying the demonstrators.
"What do we want? Convictions. When do we want it? Now," chanted the protesters.
"There are certain things that need to be met. Once those are met, people need to go back into their communities and they need to reinvest in their communities at large and that is why we are here to dom," said one demonstrator.
One of the organizers, originally from New York, has been in South Florida since January.
He has helped organize several protests.
The signs carried messages about "Black Lives Matter, Stop killing black trans women
and signs about inequality."
One protester said, "Change is needed to happen all over the world."
The demonstrators in downtown Saturday planned to police themselves.
They have groups of people who have military experience, technology for social media and messaging, and people with a background in medical emergencies to help those because of the heat.
Some protesters complained to us saying police officers weren't wearing badges or covering them up.
We reached out to Miami police who say they always have their badges, whether silk-screened, metal or a patch.
Another group of marchers met in Coconut Grove.
There were other protests held in Broward County.
Protests held in Broward:
A rally was held at the City Hall in Lauderhill and marchers were holding signs in Pompano Beach.
In Pembrooke Pines, marchers headed to the city's police department, where several people spoke about defunding the police. That group later moved to city hall.
One demonstrator said she "wanted justice by whatever means necessary."
In Fort Lauderdale, there was another march in which former BSO sheriff Scott Israel was spotted among the marchers.
Another march was held in Lauderdale Lakes, organized by pastors.
They said the protests would continue until real change happens.
