PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey took to Twitter on Monday morning to thank peaceful protesters and law enforcement for their cooperation during the statewide 8 p.m. curfew. The governor said the curfew was expiring and made no mention of possibly renewing the curfew.
The curfew officially expired at 5 a.m. Monday morning.
The curfew was put into place on Sunday, May 31, the day after looting and rioting occurred in Scottsdale as well as tensions between police and protesters in Downtown Phoenix continued for the third-straight night.
Protests have continued in Downtown Phoenix each night since, but no protest-related arrests have been made since the night of Sunday May 31, making it 11 nights of protests in the city and seven-straight with no arrests as of yesterday.
"Arizona has avoided much of the violence we’ve seen in other states and large metro areas," Gov. Ducey said on Twitter Monday.
The protests in Arizona have centered around the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the death of Dion Johnson in Phoenix, both died on Memorial Day.
Johnson was sleeping in a car on the Loop 101 when a DPS trooper fatally shot him. Investigators say a struggle led to the shooting. The attorney and family of Johnson continues to seek answers in the case.
On Sunday, arguably the largest crowd of protesters Phoenix has seen yet gathered in Encanto Park, focusing on the death of Johnson, before marching.
There was another large protest in Scottsdale Sunday night as well.
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Protests are expected to continue in Arizona after the deaths of Floyd and Johnson.
Phoenix City Council is voting Monday on a tentative capital funds budget as pressure from community activists demanding more accountability and transparency from the Phoenix Police Department continues.
Community activists want city leaders to cut 25 percent of the police department's budget to invest in a civilian review board.
Part of the budget discussion includes potentially allocating nearly $3 million for the civilian review board. The board that would provide oversight to police conduct was approved in a historic vote in February.