About 200 anti-police brutality protesters march in the neighborhood of Bronzeville, in Chicago, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Protesters walked from Bronzeville to Grant Park, after police prohibited them from marching along the Dan Ryan Expressway. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot praised city police Sunday for 'œfairly quickly" settling weekend protests that devolved into violent skirmishes while activists and other elected officials blasted police for unnecessary aggressive tactics.
The day of demonstrations against police brutality started peacefully Saturday with a march around noon. Later, a separate demonstration near downtown resulted in two dozen arrests, 17 injured officers and at least two injured protesters. None of the injuries were believed to be life threatening.
Lightfoot told CBS' 'œFace the Nation'ť on Sunday that agitators "have embedded themselves in these seemingly peaceful protests and come for a fight" though the clashes were 'œover very fairly quickly because our police department is resolved to make sure that we protect peaceful protests."
Chicago Police Department Superintendent David Brown said that some in the group used black umbrellas to make it harder for police to see them, pushed officers and assaulted them. In one video released by Chicago police, a person swinging a skateboard strikes an officer.
At the same time, activist groups and some elected officials called out police for using aggressive tactics, including spraying the crowd with a chemical irritant and striking protesters with batons.
'œThe march was peaceful until CPD and other law enforcement agencies began an all-out assault on protesters,'ť said a Sunday statement from youth activist group Increase The Peace.
Several Chicago Democrats, including state Sen. Robert Peters, state Rep. Lakesia Collins and Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, questioned using department money on such a response to protesters in a city that has had a lower homicide case clearance rate than other big cities.
'œWe once again condemn Mayor Lightfoot and Superintendent Brown for their use of police force against these demonstrators on Saturday night, and for the continued escalation of surveillance, violence, and detention of protesters,'ť said a Sunday statement from the group.
Saturday's march against police brutality followed a route near the Dan Ryan Expressway after police blocked the group of about 200 people from getting on the expressway.
The march came about a week after a police shooting of a black man in the Englewood neighborhood on the city's South Side prompted large crowds of people to go to the downtown shopping area, where they smashed windows of dozens of businesses and took merchandise from stores.
About 200 anti-police brutality protesters march in the neighborhood of Bronzeville, in Chicago, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Protesters walked from Bronzeville to Grant Park, after police prohibited them from marching along the Dan Ryan Expressway. The march comes days after a officer-involved shooting prompted several hundred people to pour into the downtown area, where they smashed windows of businesses and stole merchandise. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef tries to appease counter-protesters during an anti-police brutality rally Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020, in Chicago. Protesters walked from Bronzeville to Grant Park, after police prohibited them from marching along the Dan Ryan Expressway. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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Police officers stand beside a mural for George Floyd in the neighborhood of Bronzeville, in Chicago, during an anti-police brutality protest Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Protesters walked from Bronzeville to Grant Park, after police prohibited them from marching along the Dan Ryan Expressway. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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Police officers and Illinois State Police form a human barricade in the neighborhood of Bronzeville, in Chicago, during an anti-police brutality protest Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Protesters walked from Bronzeville to Grant Park, after police prohibited them from marching along the Dan Ryan Expressway. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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A counter-protester, who claimed that the anti-police brutality protest was counter-productive because they were helping police earn overtime pay, disrupts the program, Aug. 15, 2020, in Chicago. Protesters walked from Bronzeville to Grant Park, after police prohibited them from marching along the Dan Ryan Expressway. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef comforts Xavier Smith during an anti-police brutality protest Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020, in Chicago. Smith said he was the brother of Roshad McIntosh, who was killed by police in 2014. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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A protester helps another demonstrator drink water during an anti-police brutality rally, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020, in Chicago. Protesters walked from Bronzeville to Grant Park after police prohibited them from marching along the Dan Ryan Expressway. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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Coretta Campbell raises her arms during an anti-police brutality protest in the neighborhood of Bronzeville, in Chicago, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Following the murder of George Floyd, Campbell was inspired to form a group of Black mothers who "educate young men about life." Floyd died after he was restrained in police custody in May in Minneapolis. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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Police officers form a human barricade during an anti-police brutality protest, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020, in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. Protesters walked from Bronzeville to Grant Park after police prohibited them from marching along the Dan Ryan Expressway. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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