Protests remain peaceful in Yakima for third day

YAKIMA -- Protesters in Yakima came out for a third day, fighting for justice in the killing of George Floyd.

But where protest turned to violence in many cities, that wasn't the case here.

Organizers of Sunday's march say they made it a point to let everyone who showed up know the plan was to keep things peaceful, and people listened.

"I've learned at a young age, yes to be afraid of the police because I've seen what they do when they bring your family home. I see what they do when your brothers outside. I see what happens when the camera's off and it's just morals and integrity," says Rafaela Joe, an activist speaking to a crowd on Sunday.

Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Yakima expressing their frustration over the killing of George Floyd and so many other black people killed in police custody.

No violence erupted here in Yakima like we've seen in other cities throughout the country.

Organizers of the rally made it a point from the start to tell the crowd that they intended on having a peaceful protest. Jose Rocha organized the rally on Sunday, and says they had been working with police who were in full support of them expressing their concerns.

"They've done a great job trying to bridge that gap between community, and I told them we're going to be peaceful and we intend to be peaceful," says Rocha.

Yakima Police Chief Matt Murray says he realizes they do have problems at their police department, one of them he says is the amount of minority officers they have on the force.

"We do have a minority population at the police department. It's not reflective of the community. So it's a priority for us to improve in that area," says Murray.

Several people from minority groups stepped up to share powerful stories about their experiences with law enforcement.

"What do we tell our kids now, we tell them to listen to them, don't move. Put your hands up," says Joe.

And Murray says they're listening to these protesters. He says the police force is working to build trust, like with programs that connect officers to their communities and help build relationships.

"The community is telling us the way we used to it just doesn't work," says Murray.

He says he's been fighting against the use of excessive and inappropriate force his entire career, and he says they're training officers not to use inappropriate force at YPD.

The response to the protest looks different from in other cities. Where others had riot cops in full protective gear coming out of armored personnel carriers, here, Yakima bike officers in reflective vests rode alongside the protest.