DENVER — Continued protests in response to the in-custody death of George Floyd remained peaceful on Monday.
After four nights of protests, broken windows, tear gas, rock-throwing and dumpster fires, Denver went under an extended curfew at 9 p.m. Monday night. The curfew will run overnights through Friday morning.
As Denver's curfew set in, protesters continued to march peacefully. Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen first told 9NEWS that as long as protests remained peaceful, even after curfew, officers would not step in. He later walked back his pledge and instead said that officers would "exercise good judgment and discretion."
Shortly after 8 p.m. – less than an hour before Denver's 9 p.m. curfew – 9NEWS reporters on the ground said some people put on helmets and began marching down Broadway toward the 16th Street Mall.
But aside from a few fireworks and cars spinning their wheels, protests remained peaceful throughout the evening. Denver Police did however tell the crowd they needed to leave the Civic Center Park area over a loudspeaker around 10 p.m.
The fifth day of protests on Monday drew a large crowd beginning around 5 p.m. to Colorado's Capitol, chanting, kneeling and asking for an end to systemic racism.
That noise, however, turned to silence about 7 p.m. as many in the crowd took a knee and raised flowers
The Denver Police Department, which has been at the center of protests and riots in the city since Thursday, tweeted Monday that Pazen walked with protesters and now wants to have an open conversation through a virtual community meeting.
PHOTOS: Day 5 of protests in Denver
As Denver firefighters were preparing for a repeat of several nights of riots after sundown, crews were saturating dumpsters with water around the city so they wouldn't catch on fire easily. As of 11 p.m. Monday, there were no reports of fires.
Follow along with some of our reporters who are at Monday's protest:
Monday's protests follow four previous days in which peaceful protests during the day led to riots at night that included fires, vandalism, graffiti and looting, as well as confrontations with police in which tear gas, pepper balls and foam projectiles were deployed.
The protests are making a statement on Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer was seen kneeling on his neck in a video that has been widely shared to social media. His death has sparked rallies across the country.
That officer and other officers at the scene have been fired. On Friday, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Mark Harrington announced one former officer, Derek Chauvin, has been arrested in connection with Floyd's death.
What to know right now:
- RTD will suspend services through Monday; limited bus and rail service will resume Tuesday.
- Mayor Michael Hancock instituted a countywide curfew on Saturday and said it would run from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday nights, ending on Monday morning. 9NEWS reached out to clarify whether the curfew will be in effect Monday night as well.
- A total of 284 arrests have been made in conjunction with the disturbances over the past four days, including 170 arrests on Sunday. Of those arrests, 70.7% live in Denver or elsewhere in Colorado, according to public records and data from the Denver Police Department. A total of 236 people were charged for violating curfew.
- A suspect was arrested after police said he on Saturday night deliberately drove into officers and a civilian, causing serious injuries.
The Denver protests are among several across the country in cities that include Minneapolis, Atlanta, New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston and Los Angeles.
Prior Denver protests coverage
DAY 1: Tear gas deployed, windows shattered as crowd marches in Denver protesting death of George Floyd
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