MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Myrtle Beach demonstrators protested Sunday marching from Ocean Boulevard to the Myrtle Beach Police Department to demand justice for George Floyd’s death.
The Myrtle Beach Police Department confirms 26 protesters were arrested Sunday. Mayor Brenda Bethune says she believes it was a very peaceful protest, and that it has a lot to do with the plan that was in place and how the police department handled the situation.
She says they had information other protesting groups were coming in and they were able to plan accordingly.
“Whenever you have large crowds of people gathering, we can never really know what to expect. So, the fact that yesterday went so well is a huge testimony to our police department, and I cannot say that enough,” said Mayor Bethune.
Bethune also told News13 she thinks the curfew helped the situation and that the reason people protest is because they’re passionate and want to be heard.
“When I look around at other protests across our state, and across the country we are so grateful, but I think that has a lot to do with the planning that was in place and the way our police department handled the situation,” she said.
Protester Denise McFadden says her fiance was one of the several people arrested Sunday.
“They tried to basically arrest me, but like I told them, we [weren’t] even like moving towards y’all. Y’all came out of the crowd to come and get us,” she said.
McFadden says her fiance was arrested for disorderly conduct and breaking curfew.
Quanisha Turner was also at the police department Monday waiting for her boyfriend, also arrested during the protest, to be released.
“Black lives do matter,” said Turner. “I don’t see any difference in white people and black people. They [are] all the same.”
Mayor Bethune tells News13 there is another planned protest for Sunday, but that the police department is in communication with that organizer who says it will be peaceful.
