Aurora police arrest man during peaceful protest

A man was arrested during a peaceful protest Friday evening after he ignored a number of requests to stop blocking the street, Aurora police said Friday night.

Jose Garcia, 30, was charged with obstructing an officer and improper walking on the roadway.

Police said that just before 7:45 p.m., about 20 people began marching from a protest at downtown Aurora's Millennium Plaza eastward on East Galena Boulevard.

Police said the protesters were blocking traffic and that drivers were attempting to drive around the group and turn against traffic, creating unsafe conditions. A police sergeant ordered the crowd to disperse and told the protesters that they could march on sidewalks, police said.

According to police, all but Garcia obeyed the order. He refused additional orders to leave the street and shouted expletives at officers before he was arrested, police said.

"It is the policy of the Aurora Police Department to support and promote the exercise of individual rights, to fulfill its responsibility to uphold the law, to provide for the safety of public assembly participants as well as members of the public," police said in a statement Friday night.