Classy bunch. They crashed the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. http://tbo.com/news/politics/protest-against-police-brutality-draws-large-crowd-to-downtown-20141205/ TAMPA — More than 200 demonstrators on Friday night joined the chorus of nationwide protests against police brutality, brazenly marching into the city’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.They stood in front of the stage, chanting loud enough to drown out “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”No one was injured and there were no outbreaks of violence or confrontations with police, though some in the park, who had come there with children for the annual holiday festival, were upset with the demonstrators.Tampa police accommodated the march. Officers on horseback followed the group to make sure no vehicles made it into the throng, and officers on bicycles pedaled alongside the protesters blocking traffic coming onto Kennedy from side streets.There were no confrontations as bicycle officers stood stoicly watching, often while protesters goaded them.The demonstration was “to stand with Ferguson” a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, in which a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, said Matt Hastings, one of the Tampa protest organizers. The march had been planned long before a New York grand jury failed this week to indict a white officer who used a strangle hold on a suspect, killing him.Protests have been growing across the country in recent days; similar protests in Miami on Friday shut down part of Interstate 95.“This is a beautiful movement,” said Hastings, 23. “I’m proud Tampa has joined it today.”He said several cities held rallies in the days after former Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson was not charged by a grand jury in the death of 19-year-old Michael Brown over the summer.“We thought we’d wait a little bit,” he said.Earlier this week, a grand jury in New York City did not charge white New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the strangle-hold death of Eric Garner, a black man. So, Hastings said, the Tampa demonstration broadened to encompass racism and police brutality“Even though none of that happened in Tampa,” Hastings said, “it still affects us here.”The crowd started out small, fewer than 100, in Lykes Gaslight Square Park across from the Tampa Police Department’s downtown headquarters. It grew in number and decibel level, with speeches by various protesters ramping up the emotion of the throng.Protesters then spilled out onto adjacent Kennedy Boulevard, and two mounted police officers, who had been in the shadows of the park, quickly moved to block westbound traffic.Some vehicles honked their horns in support, eliciting loud cheers from the protesters. One driver was caught in the middle of an intersection with protesters all around him. He tried to edge his way through, but protesters wouldn’t budge. He finally squeezed into a clear lane and went around them.The vocal crowd, shouting dozens of chants including, “No justice, no peace,” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, racist cops have got to go,” moved onto the Kennedy Boulevard bridge over the Hillsborough River and stopped. A few guests on the pool patio of Aloft, the trendy boutique hotel next to the bridge, watched silently.“Enjoy your privilege,” one demonstrator shouted at them.The march continued west to Brevard Street, where it stopped and about-faced, heading back into downtown, bound for the Christmas tree lighting event, where thousands of residents had come to eat, listen to music and watch “Arthur Christmas” on a large outdoor screen.The demonstrators marched through the crowd and stood in front of the stage, their chants drowning out the music from the live band. Some members of the audience grabbed blankets and children and headed for the exits. Others watched, wondering what was happening.Bryan Felts was there with his children. As fake snow wafted on the breeze all around him, his family outing was spoiled, he said.“This is not the time or place for this,” Felts said. “There are kids and families here to celebrate Christmas. I didn’t bring my kids here to watch this. I hope they’re not here all night.”The band finished the last song and a woman got on stage to announce the movie was about to start.“Don’t let them chase you out of the park,” she said over the public address system.Moments later, the demonstrators began the march back into downtown and the protest was over. Organizers said its mission of drawing attention to the issue accomplished.“However many people turned out for this, this is a success,” Hastings said. “They got out of their homes and onto the streets to say something about it.”Bill Williams, 70, of New Port Richey made the drive to downtown Tampa to march with the much younger crowd.“I wanted to be a part of this,” he said. “If a cop takes out a gun and shoots someone, that cop should be indicted.”The Rev. Russell Meyer, a Lutheran minister and executive director of the Florida Council of Churches, stood with the protesters, “for truth and justice,” he said.“The time has come for a conversation over the value of life in America,” he said, “and whether or not there is any reason that a person should die in the act of being arrested.”He looked over the gathering throng downtown in the minutes before the march began.“When you look at who is on this street,” he said. “It’s just America.”
