Video shows car driving through group of protesters
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ROSEVILLE, CA (KOVR) — A car drove into a group of protesters in Roseville Monday, and the dangerous incident was caught on traffic video.
A group of protesters was at Royer Park on Monday when a smaller group went to the roundabout at Washington Boulevard and Oak Street where they began blocking vehicles and holding up signs, according to a statement from the Roseville Police Department.
“A group of demonstrators were blocking a vehicle and that vehicle attempted to push through,” Roseville police spokesperson Rob Baquera said. Protesters claim they were just trying to cross the street when the car nearly ran them over.
“Somebody really could’ve gotten hurt,” protester Kourtney Greene said.
Some of the protesters stood in front of a black vehicle, and at one point, a protester appears to lean on the front of the vehicle. The vehicle then accelerated forward through the group, forcing them aside, and drove away. Police did not say whether any of the protesters were injured.
The group gathered to protest racial injustice.
It’s something that’s become all too common during protest times, demonstrators putting themselves in the path of oncoming traffic. So who’s at fault?
Law professor John Myers saw the video and says he noticed it was clear her true intent was not to run the protestors over.
“If she put her foot on the gas and went straight and ran them over then that, I’m pretty sure, would be charged criminally. She turned the wheel after she was able to go forward,” Myers said.
Organizers in Roseville say they know what they are getting into while protesting, but that the car could have been more patient as they crossed the street.
“As uncomfortable as they might feel for delayed traffic, that’s a minor fraction of how black people have felt living in America,” organizer Marissa Hardy said.
Police say their officers arrived on the scene and put traffic safety measures in place until the protesters left. The police department is investigating this incident and says it will forward its finding to the Placer County District Attorney’s Office for review.
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