Wichita police arrest 12 after night of vandalism and thefts, chief says. No curfew

Police arrested 12 people in Wichita overnight during protests that involved looting, businesses being damaged and random shots being fired near protests.

Police said the protest started peacefully at around 7 p.m. Tuesday with people handing out flowers in the street at 21st and Maize. At 8 p.m., a fight broke out between protesters and counter-protesters and bottles were thrown at responding officers, Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Five people were arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly, one on reckless driving and one on obstruction, according to a news release.

People then started to gather at 21st and Arkansas. Rocks and bottles were thrown at responding officers and shots started to ring out near the gathering, according to a police department news release.

“The crowd continued to become more agitated, and multiple individuals began looting the QuikTrip store (at 626 W. 21st) and the windshield of a (Wichita Police Department) patrol car was damaged,” the news release says.

As police started to clear the area, one more person was arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly and obstruction.

Soon after, 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.”

Ramsay said 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.

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

Curfews have been implemented in cities across the country as 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.

When asked whether a curfew had been discussed for Wichita, 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 the 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 have asked for help from the community to identify certain people involved in the Monday night to Tuesday morning protest at 21st and Arkansas, where officers were shot at as the cleared the area. One video shows the suspected gunman who shot at the police.

This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 3:41 PM.