VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A group of demonstrators gathered at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Friday night in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Demonstrators said they were protesting police brutality and demanding more transparency from the Virginia Beach Police Department.
They also marched to demand the city paint Black Lives Matter on the boardwalk as a show of solidarity.
WAVY’s Geena Arevalo reported there were at least 30 protesters at the scene.
Protesters initially planned to march back to Rudee Loop once getting to 20th Street, but they decided to keep going toward 30th Street.
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Officers warned protesters if they step in the street, they would get arrested. There was a heavy police presence throughout Atlantic Avenue. Several people stopped along Atlantic Avenue to watch the scene.
By 10:30 p.m., WAVY reporters saw at least three protesters taken into custody at 30th Street and Atlantic Avenue. A woman in the crowd was upset and yelling. Police approached the crowd, then there was more yelling and commotion.
WAVY spoke to one of the men who was taken into custody. He said he was trying to calm the woman down and during the commotion, he said he was thrown on the ground and put in handcuffs by an officer. He said he got a summons to appear in court for being a pedestrian in the roadway.
Protesters told 10 On Your Side police arrested two more from the crowd as they made their way back to Rudee Inlet. The protest ended shortly after 11.
A police spokeswoman said 5 people were arrested and 3 summons were issued following the protest:
- 7 Pedestrian in the Roadway Charges
- 3 Obstruction of Justice Charges
- 2 Drunk in Public Charges
