After two nights of violence, early Thursday morning protests end peacefully

After two violent nights and a bogus social media claim that looters would target white people in the suburbs, Wichita’s Wednesday night into early Thursday morning protests against racist policing ended peacefully.

Wichita police, who broke up protests wearing full riot gear on Monday and Tuesday, mostly kept their distance.

Tensions between Wichita police and protesters have been high, as officers have been shot at and protesters have been tear gassed, shot with foam bullets and arrested. Police entered Wednesday evening prepared for more violence.

“We are ready to deal with anything that comes along,” Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said Wednesday afternoon, adding that Wichita police would “aggressively go after those that are victimizing our businesses and our neighborhoods.”

But the protests Wednesday night ended peacefully, with minimal police interference.

In Wichita and across the country protests have sometimes turned violent in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, held him to the pavement with a knee on his neck. The Minnesota police officer has been fired and charged with murder. Three other officers have also been fired and charged in connection with Floyd’s death.

The arrests did little to appease Wichita protesters, who continue to call for police accountability and an end to police violence.

Floyd’s death opened wounds that have never fully healed in Wichita, with some protesters calling for investigations into the police killings of Marquez Smart, Icarus Randolph, John Paul Quintero, Andrew Finch and others killed in the past decade.

The crisis point in Wichita was Tuesday night, when looters broke into the QuikTrip at 21st and Arkansas and raided the convenience store, which has since closed.

On Wednesday night, protests and rallies in north Wichita, Derby and northeast Wichita denounced bad cops and bad protesters alike while calling for widespread changes to police policies.

Shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday, members of the Latino community gathered in north Wichita at 21st and Arkansas in support of peaceful protests and to denounce violence and looting in their neighborhood.

An hour later, a small group of young black women shut down traffic at 13th and Oliver.

“We’re trying to bring people together and bring awareness to how we really do matter and people are really killing us,” said Madison McClellan, 20, one of the protesters who defied police orders Wednesday night and stood in the middle of 13th and Oliver. A five-and-a-half hours demonstration with hundreds of protesters followed.

Police left the intersection after the young women refused to move, instead setting up a perimeter, watching with a drone and controlling traffic from every direction.

The protest remained peaceful, with some protesters breaking out a grill on the sidewalk. Unlike some of the earlier protests that seemed more like a block party without a clear message than a political demonstration, the 13th and Oliver protest focused on police brutality.

Madison McClellan and Mya McClellan, 19, emerged as leaders of the protest and worked tirelessly throughout the night to give meaning to the demonstration, weaving through the crowd and reviving “black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace” chants and challenging other protesters to make their voices heard.

“People are going to hear my voice, if they don’t hear anything else,” Mya said. “I know people are probably tired of hearing me, but I’m going to keep talking.

“Some people are out here just to be seen, and I don’t appreciate that. It’s time to be heard. The majority out here is black, and if you’re not screaming, what are you even standing here for?”

Why was Wednesday different?

The intersection of 21st and Arkansas has been a focal point for protests since Sunday night when a crowd of around 700 people shut down traffic.

More of a massive block party and car show than a protest, the Sunday gathering eventually dispersed without police involvement.

But gatherings there Monday and Tuesday nights became more politically charged and turned violent. Police drove protesters from the intersection with riot gear, tear gas, flash grenades and foam bullets. QuikTrip was looted Tuesday night and closed Wednesday.

“We understand the outpouring of peaceful protests and nonviolent gatherings happening around Wichita and the country because of the countless deaths and lynchings of black people,” said Latino community activist Angel Martinez Wednesday night at 21st and Arkansas. “It is unacceptable that far too many black and brown people live in constant fear of losing their lives in our country.”

But he also condemned the looting and violence of Monday and Tuesday nights, calling for peace on Wednesday.

Antonio Orona, who helped organize the get-together on Sunday and the peaceful protest on Wednesday, said he’s nervous that future gatherings at 13th and Oliver could be taken over by more aggressive protesters and opportunists who are more interested in causing trouble than making change.

“The whole reason (for the Sunday rally) was the unification of the Mexican north side and the black north side,” he said. “But it got hijacked by angry protesters. But I can’t be mad at them because I made up the platform for them to do that, you know what I mean?”

Orona said he has been involved in the clean-up at 21st and Arkansas after bottles, tear gas and other debris and trash left by hundreds of protesters, police and looters filled the intersection.

Jacob McCray was at the 21st and Arkansas protest on Tuesday night and the 13th and Oliver protest on Wednesday. He said Wednesday night felt different and more constructive.

“There’s not the looting, for one thing,” he said.

“This one’s a lot more peaceful and the cops aren’t pushing us like they did last night,” he said.

McCray, who said he was tear gassed Tuesday night, said police played a part in escalating the violence on Tuesday and it was a good thing they stayed away from the Wednesday night gathering.

McCray said Wichita police escalated the situation Tuesday before looters broke into QuikTrip.

While standing outside the QuikTrip on Tuesday, McCray said police aimed a laser sight on his chest and at other protesters on the front lines, which made him very nervous that rubber bullets would start flying.

He said that started before the gathering had been determined unlawful, which made it a much more hostile situation and caused a large group to break off from the protest and rush the QuikTrip entrance.

McCray remained at the corner of 21st and Arkansas, where Wichita police later fired flash grenades and tear gas. He and his friends refused to disperse, he said.

“We just want to be heard,” McCray said. “That’s all this is about.”

Wichita police said the SWAT team became more aggressive Tuesday after protesters threw rocks and bottles at them and gunshots rang out near the gathering. The police chief held a news conference Tuesday afternoon to show a police helmet that had been grazed by gunfire during the Monday protests. Three officers received minor injuries after some in the crowd threw cinder blocks, rocks and bottles at them.

The protest Wednesday night also attracted a group of people who don’t typically attend political demonstrations. Marcus Hunter, a protester at 13th and Oliver, said that’s not really his thing but since the issue hits so close to home, he felt compelled to show up and speak out.

“We’re not here to tear anything up,” Hunter said. “We just want to end police brutality. We want to be treated the same as everyone else. Right now we’re at the bottom, man. I’ve been pulled over two or three times by Wichita police with their guns drawn, when I hadn’t done anything wrong. That’s my experience as a black man in Wichita, Kansas, and it needs to stop.”

Instead of a SWAT team, Wichita police sent in a single cruiser early Thursday morning to disperse the crowd, asking protesters politely to leave, and the night ended without conflict.

This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 5:01 PM.