A large group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators took to the streets of Rochester on the third night of protests in the city over the death of Daniel Prude, a black man who was killed in the custody of Rochester police in March.
The recently released bodycam footage showed officers placing a hood over Prude's head before pinning him to the ground, kneeling over his back and pushing his face on the pavement until he stopped breathing. He died a week later in the hospital.
'We're Shutting Your Party Down'
More than a thousand protesters descended upon downtown Rochester on Friday night and a video of a demonstrators confronting diners at a restaurant is now being widely circulated on social media.
The clip, shared by FreedomNewsTV shows a large group of protesters surrounding a restaurant where diners were enjoying their meal chanting "Black Lives Matter" slogans.
The patrons can be seen terrified as one of the protesters flips a customers' table, causing the plates and glasses to come crashing down. 'We're shutting your party down,' one woman can be heard shouting in the video.
At one point, a woman appears to be frightened as a nearby table is overturned by one of the protesters, prompting one of them to say, "Nobody is going to touch you. Calm down."
Protesters are then seen moving on to another restaurant chanting, "If you don't give us our sh*t, we shut sh*t down." One of the protesters then interrupts a group of six female diners by pushing the crockery off their table. "Get out of here," one of the patrons can be heard saying before fleeing in panic. Watch the video below:
Peaceful Protest Declared 'Unlawful Assembly'
The protest, which began peacefully at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park at around 6.30 p.m., spiraled out of control after protesters started destroying property, including a bus stop that was set on fire.
Authorities then declared the event as an "unlawful assembly," leading to clashes between law enforcement and protesters, who were sprayed with with pepper balls and tear gas in an attempt to get them to disperse. Tensions between civilians and law enforcement has skyrocketed since the death of George Floyd and other black Americans in custody over the past several months.
