PHOENIX — Phoenix police officers arrested four people last night during a Black Lives Matter demonstration Saturday night.
The individuals were arrested and charged for allegedly "obstructing a public thoroughfare," police said. Officers from the department's Tactical Response Unit made the arrests.
The protests lasted several hours with marches through the downtown area, police said. They also allegedly stopped repeatedly to block roadways and major intersections.
Officers reportedly gave "numerous verbal warnings" to the protesters to leave the roadways that were ignored, police said.
The four individuals were arrested at around 9:15 p.m., police said. Two of the individuals arrested, 29-year-old Kristen Bird and 22-year-old Jonah Ivy, had allegedly blocked roadways on previous nights and were charged for those incidents as well.
Bird was also given the charge of resisting arrest, although a description of Bird's reported attempt to resist arrest was not included in the department's statement.
The two other individuals arrested, 27-year-old Lee Percy Christian and 22-year-old Ryan Tice, were also charged with resisting arrest. Officers additionally charged Tice with "hindering prosecution," after he was reportedly attempting to pull officers away from one of the other individuals.
Officers also charged Christian with aggravated assault on a police officer for allegedly "fighting with officers," police said. During the reported altercation, police fired a diversionary round which created a loud bang to end the fight.
All four subjects were booked into the Maricopa County Jail.
