The Los Angeles Police Department has made over 2,700 arrests since the race riots over the death of George Floyd have begun, as reported by Fox News.
The chief of police, Michel Moore, reported to the city’s Police Commission that of the arrests, about 2,500 were for failure to adhere to curfew or refusing to disperse. The remaining 200 were for violent crimes such as looting, arson, and assault.
Chief Moore has been critical of the riots, pointing out that they are “criminal acts” rather than legitimate protests, and that the rioters were not “mourning the death of George Floyd,” but were instead “capitalizing” on it by looting and committing vandalism and assault during the chaos.
“His death is on their hands as much as it is those officers. And that is a strong statement, but I must say that this civil unrest that we are in the midst of, we must turn a corner from people who are involved in violence, people who are involved in preying on others,” the chief said on Monday.
The arrests in Los Angeles make up approximately half of nationwide arrests in the ongoing riots, which have seen over 5,600 people arrested. The level of response to the riots has varied from city to city, with the military mobilized to successfully secure Washington D.C. on Monday, and the National Guard similarly restoring peace in Minneapolis, while other cities such as Chicago and New York continue to see more violence due to the failure of local leaders to cooperate with federal authorities.