Protest live updates: Demonstration singles out Fernández Rundle; retailers board up

Business owners were taking no chances on Tuesday, with several shops in Lincoln Road, Wynwood, the Design District and the Midtown area boarding up storefronts in the afternoon in case demonstrations turned violent. Aventura Mall, which closed at 2 p.m. on Monday due to unspecified threats, remained open Tuesday afternoon. In Broward, Sawgrass Mills closed early at 4 p.m.

Monday’s protests, in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, produced no arrests in Miami-Dade. Crowd sizes were smaller than on the weekend, and demonstrators marched through Overtown and downtown Miami.

Demonstration in Coral Springs

In Coral Springs, a peaceful protest unfolded in the parking lot across the street from city hall for about three hours Tuesday afternoon. Protesters received a near-constant stream of honks and cheers of support from passing cars, and the police presence was minimal.

Tifanny Burks, a 27-year-old community organizer for Black Lives Matter Alliance Broward, spoke through a megaphone about how the message from activists has shifted over the years. After previous police killings of black people, advocates like Burks called for more de-escalation training for police officers and body cameras.

“We got those things, but we still have a massive problem,” she said, her Angela Davis earrings jangling.

She read out a long list of names of people killed by police, including 27-year-old Barry Gedeus, who was shot while running from a Fort Lauderdale police officer in early March. Police told the Sun Sentinel he matched the description of a recently reported rapist, but his friends and family dispute that.

“Now our message is a little bit different,” she said. “We have given police many chances. They have proven themselves not worthy.”

The crowd cheered. Some thumped their signs, which featured pictures and names of the dead.

“We need to defund the police,” she said.

In an interview with the Miami Herald, she said the focus of most protesters in the wake of George Floyd’s death has been unified — defund and divest from police departments. Burks said the money would be better spent on affordable housing, mental health resources and community justice programs.

Behind her, a young black woman held up a sign that read “My skin is not a weapon. Stop killing me like it is.” The rain earlier in the day melted the red marker off the word killing, dripping red all down the poster.

The protest was organized by 19-year-old Mahek Manjiani, a biology major at Florida International University, and 17-year-old Shayan Shivji, a student at Coral Springs Charter. The pair were inspired by the Saturday afternoon protests across the country but wanted to attend something closer to home.

When news of the protest hit local news site Coral Springs Talk, the pair said they were met with hateful comments urging them to ”go back to their country.” With that sort of initial response, they said they were “blown away” by the hundred or so protesters that showed up.

“As humans, we have to fight against inequality,” Manjiani said.

Tavi Cummings, 14, said this was her first protest. As social media lit up with posts about Black Lives Matter this week, she said she’s had to unfollow acquaintances and friends or have hard conversations with people about the topic.

When she saw some of the posts, especially the White Lives Matter ones, she wondered “How do they even look at me? Do they think differently of me because I’m black?”

At the protest, she held up a sign with the names of black women killed by police and chanted “Black Lives Matter” with the crowd.

“It makes me scared knowing that the people we call when we need help are against our skin color,” she said. “I know what’s right and I’ll stand up for it.” — ALEX HARRIS

Honoring Overtown’s history

Protesters made their way into Overtown, and briefly stopped for a break. Organizer Joseph Martinez, 28, pointed at a helicopter that had followed protesters along their path.

“That helicopter is trying to drown out our noise,” he said. “So we have to be louder.”

As the crowd moved through Overtown, some people took a moment to stop and remind each other of the neighborhood’s history.

They brought up the expansion of Interstate 95 in the 1950s and 1960s that cut through the heart of Overtown and displaced thousands.

The idea to expand Interstate 95 was part of a national urban-planning idea to remove what some saw as “blight” or minority communities like Overtown.

“We will respect this neighborhood ... this used to be the busiest business district in Miami,” said Dahmiec Denson, of Overtown. “But then they intentionally built I-95 through it.”

They chanted about other neighborhoods like Wynwood, where heavy development has transformed the formerly working-class area.

Protesters stood on the corner of Northwest 20th Street and Second Avenue, under a painted sign that read “Wynwood Starts Here.”

“Before there were bars and restaurants, there were people living here,” organizer Joseph Martinez said. — SAMANTHA GROSS

Protesters demonstrate against State Attorney Fernández Rundle

Tuesday was the fourth day of protests locally, which mirrored those taking place coast to coast. A group of about 500 gathered in the rain outside the Miami-Dade County Pre-trial Detention Center at 4:30 p.m.

The activist group Dream Defenders handed out fliers urging people to vote out longtime Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle, who has been criticized by many for a track record of not prosecuting police officers accused of brutality, including fatal shootings.

“Vote her out,” they chanted.

Organizers crossed police tape in front of the Criminal Justice Building, ripping through the yellow tape to allow protesters to circle the courthouse.

Fernández Rundle, who has been in office for 27 years, has never charged a police officer in an on-duty killing.

Responding to the protest, Fernández Rundle called Floyd’s death “senseless” and said she supported peaceful protesters who want “smart, equal and fair justice.”

“The great majority of the protesters are exercising their rights lawfully and can rest assured that we will not prosecute any of them,” Fernández Rundle said in a statement. “Unfortunately, some individuals are attempting to take advantage of the legitimate call for change by defacing and damaging the property of others, including small businesses, vehicles and homes; looting; and attacking police officers.”

In her statement, Fernández Rundle pushed back against claims she is soft on police officers. She pointed out that her office has secured trial convictions against a North Miami police officer who shot at an autistic man holding a toy truck, and a Miami police officer who slammed a hospital nurse to the ground.

Her prosecutors have also tried, but lost, a series of recent criminal cases against police officers accused of excessive force while arresting suspects.

Florida law gives great leeway to police officers to use force while on duty — even allowing cops to shoot unarmed felony suspects in the back, under the presumption that the suspects could harm someone. Until the conviction of Palm Beach Gardens Officer Nourman Raja last year, no state prosecutor in Florida over the past several decades had succeeded in convicting a cop for a fatal, on-duty shooting.

Fernández Rundle’s upcoming election remained top of mind for many protesters, who called for people to vote against her in the Aug. 18 primary.

Jorge Damian de la Paz, an urban planner who protested through the weekend and into the week, held a sign asking for the county to reinstate its police oversight board, to stop building jails and to vote in a new state attorney.

“During her current tenure, she has not prosecuted police officers for an on-duty [fatal] shooting in my entire lifetime,” said de la Paz, 28, of Miami. “It’s egregious. This has to change.” — SAMANTHA GROSS AND DAVID OVALLE

UM health workers support protesters

A few health workers at the UM Health Outpatient Center threw up fists in support of the march and waved at protesters.

Dream Defenders organizer Joseph Martinez told the crowd that whenever the crowd of about 300 walked into any community, organizers would offer information on the “historical context“ of the neighborhood.

“We are not here to incite violence. ... We also want to highlight that our violence and our rage is justified,” Martinez said.

Genesis Monge, a 19-year-old high school student, said Tuesday’s demonstration was her first experience at a protest.

“We’ve never done anything like this,” Monge said. Police “say they’re here to protect and serve, but they’re not serving and protecting anyone.”

“We just feel like it’s not fair that [black people] have to keep fighting, like there’s no change ever. It’s not fair to just treat the black community like this,” Monge said. — BIANCA PADRO OCASIO

Retailers board up

Although none of the protests had reached Lincoln Road, some retailers in the iconic open-air shopping district, including Apple and Lacoste, took no chances Tuesday afternoon and boarded up their storefronts. Neither store has reopened for business since the COVID-19 closures.

Other stores in the Design District, Wynwood and the Midtown area similarly boarded their windows on Tuesday. — MARTIN VASSOLO

Sawgrass Mills Closes Early

For the second day in a row, Sawgrass Mills Mall closed early because of potential protests and looting.

Sunrise police officer Otishia Browning-Smith said by 4 p.m. the mall had emptied out.

“People are starting to show up,” Browning-Smith said of protesters. Everyone was being directed to an area off Northwest 136th Avenue in front of the BB&T Center.

“There are no issues so far,” Browning-Smith said. “Everyone is peaceful.”

Meanwhile, Aventura Mall, which closed early on Monday, remained open Tuesday. — CARLI TEPROFF