Wichita officials decide against curfew saying only a few are behind violent protests

After two nights in a row of riot police clearing violent protests in Wichita and the looting of a gas station, city officials discussed but decided against implementing a city-wide curfew, officials said.

Wichita has been rocked by riots that grew out of what started as peaceful protests. Late Tuesday night, two major protests with two vastly different endings saw police became more aggressive and demonstrations became more violent.

By the end of the night, looters had stormed a QuikTrip at 21st and Arkansas, gunshots rang out through a residential area and police filled the streets with tear gas.

It was the fourth straight day of protests in Wichita 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.

Curfews have been implemented in cities across the country as protests have sometimes turned violent.

When asked whether a curfew had been discussed for Wichita, Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said “we’re talking about very few people, and not at this time.”

City staff later clarified that a curfew has been discussed, though there are no plans to implement one at this time. City law grants the mayor the power to declare a curfew when riots threaten the city. Violating the curfew is a misdemeanor and is an arrest-able offense.

“We are working with the police to formalize the best policy moving forward,” Mayor Brandon Whipple said. “And I want to make it clear that we have one of the best police chiefs I think in the country and he has been very good in helping educate us on the best policy moving forward.”

Whipple was flanked at a Wednesday afternoon news conference by City Council members Brandon Johnson, Cindy Claycomb and Bryan Frye. None of the three council members spoke.

Pastor C. Richard Kirkendoll, president of the Greater Wichita Ministerial League, said at the city news conference that he is going to “try to calm things down and get back on track” with peaceful protests. He said he is proud of the community for holding peaceful protests over the weekend.

“But these incidents that took place for the last three nights, not only have we lost ground, we’ve lost focus. ... It’s not the majority of the community, it’s just a few,” Kirkendoll said.

“What I was afraid of is that a stray bullet, whether it comes from police or the protesters, would go in a house and hit an innocent kid,” Kirkendoll added.

Police arrested 12 people overnight during the protests. Five were arrested at 21st and Maize on suspicion of unlawful assembly, one on reckless driving and one on obstruction, according to a news release.

Ramsay said Wednesday that the 21st and Maize gathering was “a model protest” that “seemed to be going very well” as individuals handed out flowers. But after about an hour, it was disrupted by a fight with counter-protesters. Sheriff’s deputies who tried to intervene were attacked with items thrown from the crowd.

The protest then moved to 21st and Arkansas, where rocks were thrown at police and shots rang out, police said. A patrol car windshield was damaged. One protester was arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly and obstruction as police cleared that area.

Ramsay said the gathering at 21st and Arkansas “started out as I think a well-intended protest was hijacked by some individuals with other intentions. I think it’s going to have a significant negative impact on that community.”

Soon after the area was cleared, police were told about an east Wichita business being damaged. Four people were arrested and items were found “in their car related to the looting that occurred earlier at” QuikTrip. The people arrested range in age from 15 to 22.

The WPD “continued to receive reports of vandalism and thefts at multiple businesses throughout the city into the early morning.”

No damage or loss estimate for the QuikTrip looting was available from police Wednesday afternoon.

Northwest Wichita protest

The first of the two protests was centered at 21st and Maize in northwest Wichita. It was mostly peaceful Tuesday evening, but was ultimately deemed unlawful and cleared without violence between protesters and police.

People started gathering at around 7 p.m. around the busy intersection. Several businesses in the NewMarket Square area closed early in preparation for the protest. Walmart associates blocked off the entrance with pallets of mulch.

Protesters chanted as vehicles drove through the area, many of them honking their horns.

At around 10:50 p.m., a firework mortar was set off on the southeast corner of 21st and Maize. Across the street, a group of law enforcement officers in riot gear came from behind Dillons and marched to the stoplight. A loudspeaker made an announcement.

“This is the Wichita Police Department. This is an unlawful assembly. Leave the area.”

Wearing helmets and holding shields, law enforcement officers advanced along the south side of 21st Street as most of protesters gradually left. Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay and Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter supervised.

Members of the media were permitted to observe from the north side of the street.

When police first declared the protest unlawful, it was unclear why.

After clearing the first protest and before responding to the second, Ramsay told The Eagle that the gathering on Maize was unlawful due to a few instances of violence and business concerns.

“There was fights over here, the businesses were getting upset that their commerce was being slowed down, some of them were scared that bad things were going to happen,” he said. “We got a lot of businesses that closed tonight because there’s rumors of looting and stuff. So everybody’s on edge. We just wanted it to go peacefully.

“We had no property damage, no one’s hurt and people got to express their rights.”

Ramsay said individuals who were armed with guns added tension to the protest. They reportedly were the ones involved in isolated fights with the protesters.

As police broke up the protest, officers did not use any of their munitions. No protesters threw rocks or other debris at that point, though a few people threw glass bottles and water bottles at officers earlier in the evening before police pulled back, Ramsay said.

“I can’t send these guys in when (stuff) is getting thrown at their heads,” he said. “My job is to keep them (officers) safe, my job is to keep protesters safe and it’s a balance.”

Ramsay said initial reports listed five arrests from when protesters were cleared and a few more from earlier in the evening.

After the protest, one of the protesters said they were peaceful.

“The protesters were peaceful, we have remained peaceful, we will remain peaceful,” said Sora Wright. “This is our city, and we’re not going to let it burn.”

Wright said she is a member of a unity committee and is an organizer of a protest planned for Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. After the 21st and Maize protest was shut down, she said the group would reconvene at 21st and Arkansas.

“There was a third party that was not the police or protesters that threatened the protesters,” she said. “The police came in to clear us out to try to protect us from a potential attack.”

North Wichita protest

When protesters gathered at 21st and Arkansas for the third night in a row, the streets were darker than previous nights, with the QuikTrip on the northeast corner closed for the first time during the demonstrations.

By 11 p.m., a Wichita police SWAT team had formed a line across 21st Street south of QuikTrip, suited in riot gear, including body armor and rifles. They stood in a car wash parking lot and watched as protesters shouted “(Expletive) the police” and “No justice, no peace” from across the street.

Two counter-protesters carrying guns, knives and a machete stood on the same side of the street as police.

At around 11:30 p.m., dozens of demonstrators stormed the QuikTrip entrance, eventually breaking through to the inside of the convenience store. A scuffle broke out at the store’s entrance as a woman tried to stop looters from entering.

“This is where y’all grew up,” she shouted. “Y’all are better than this.”

Her attempts to defuse the situation were futile. Dozens more came and went with arms full of stolen goods for half an hour. Some looters attempted to sell stolen cigarettes and beer at a discount to demonstrators who hadn’t joined in the looting.

The SWAT team ordered looters, demonstrators and reporters to leave the area, announcing over speakers that the assembly had been declared unlawful just before midnight. Police quickly followed that up with flash grenades and tear gas.

Gunfire could be heard in the distance after the SWAT team began marching across the street.

Contributing: Michael Stavola of The Eagle

This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 1:36 AM.