WATCH: Multiple Los Angeles Protesters Engage in Wild Scuffle with Police

By
Jon Heltzel
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Saturday, violent clashes broke out among police and demonstrators in downtown L.A. amid protests at City Hall and the Federal Building.

In one wild scene shared by KTLA, multiple protesters attempt to engage with heavily armed police and it does not go well for them.  An officer says something to a woman holding up her phone before appearing to push her. A man then runs toward the officer and knocks him to the ground. Other LAPD officers and a few protesters rush toward the man, some of the officers waving their batons.

WATCH:

Protesters also marched along the 101 Freeway in #downtownLA while chanting: “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”

LAPD declared a citywide tactical alert amid the demonstrations.

Per KTLA, Los Angeles Police Department officers and protesters got into violent clashes Saturday in downtown L.A., one of several cities nationwide with demonstrations the same night.

Seattle, Los Angeles and Breonna Taylor’s hometown in Kentucky were all the sites of protests in solidarity with Portland, where federal agents have deployed tear gas on people protesting following weeks of civil unrest. Taylor, an EMT, was fatally shot by police in March.

Protesters also marched along a nearby stretch of the 101 Freeway.

LAPD issued a citywide tactical alert shortly after 7 p.m.

At 5:23 p.m., LAPD said the protests downtown were peaceful. But video shows some officers using batons during violent clashes sometime before 7 p.m.