Myself and a group of 3 friends decided to go downtown on Saturday evening to see what was happening at the protests. We weren’t aware that the police had been telling people to leave, because we weren’t really keeping up with live-streams or anything. We crossed the MLK bridge around 10 pm. The first group of people I hit was at the intersection of Clinton and Main. SWAT was lined up, and by the time I had gotten there they made one announcement to disperse or be arrested. Everyone began to run, including myself. I was trapped in a parking lot behind the Arts building by 3 different cop cars. I had no idea I wasn’t supposed to be there, and when I tried to leave I couldn’t. I was put in jail for 3 days, with no bond until Monday. I am being charged with disorderly conduct, when I wasn’t violent, and refusal to leave an emergency situation, while I was actively trying to leave.
Community-submitted accounts of police brutality during the 2020 George Floyd protests in Fort Wayne, Indiana.