LAPD is investigating Friday after a vehicle drove through a crowd of people in Hollywood protesting police brutality and the decision in the Breonna Taylor case.
A group of more than 300 gathered around 7 p.m. Thursday and marched through Hollywood for a largely peaceful protest, eventually making their way onto Sunset Boulevard.
Around 9 p.m., a blue pick-up truck in the 6500 block of Sunset Boulevard “maneuvered through the crowd and became involved in an altercation,” LAPD said in a news release. “As the driver of the pick-up truck attempted to get away from the situation, he struck a protester standing in the street.”
The person hit by the truck was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.
Police didn’t provide information on the altercation that took place with truck driver.
Video shows at least two people up against the truck’s hood as the vehicle sped up, knocking one person backwards to the ground then stopping briefly as protesters banged on the truck before the driver sped away.
The driver kept going as people chased after it and a green convertible Mustang followed behind it for some time until police caught up.
Officers were seen taking the driver into custody, but the Los Angeles Police Department on Friday said no arrests were made and detectives are still investigating the circumstances of the collision, including whether the driver intentionally struck the protesters.
LAPD Hollywood Division Capt. Steve Lurie told the Los Angeles Times that the driver told them protesters had attacked his vehicle first and detectives did note damage to his vehicle.
Just about half an hour after the incident with the pick-up truck, a white Prius drove through a crowd of demonstrators near the intersection of Sunset and Cahuenga boulevards, pushing people out of the way.
A black pick-up truck that police say was leading the protests sped up and stopped in front of the Prius, forcing it to stop. A man then got out of the truck and reached inside the Prius’ driver-side window, video shows.
The Prius backed up and hit the green Mustang that was involved in the previous incident.
“Both the drivers of the pick-up truck and the green Mustang attempted to extract the driver of the Prius from his vehicle. However, that driver was able to get away from the scene,” LAPD said.
The driver later surrendered to police several blocks away and no injuries were reported.
Detectives will review whether the two drivers are “the suspect of a hit-and-run or the victim of an assault,” Lurie told the Times.
“All of the drivers and victims involved in both altercations have been identified by Hollywood Officers and the investigation is on-going,” LAPD said in a statement.
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