There were some arrests made and pepper ball guns fired in downtown Omaha Monday night as a few protesters stayed past the 8:00 curfew deadline, which police had extended.
But there were also a few moments of peaceful hugs returned to exclamatory chants across the protest line about an hour ahead of Monday night's curfew. Omaha Police Deputy Chief Ken Kanger said there was a lot of communication happening, and gestures of goodwill from the officers toward the protesters.
"It was strong that the officers took a knee with them," he says. "Sometimes they think because we don't take a knee, that we're not understanding or that we don't agree that what happened in Minneapolis was inappropriate; but we also understand that we have a job to do."
He pointed out that Police Chief Todd Schmaderer "came out strong against what happened in Minneapolis."
Kanger said police spoke with organizers around 8 p.m. and said OPD asked that if both sides took a knee, protesters would comply with the order and leave peacefully.
"There was a group that really wanted to leave, and some that refused to leave," he said.
The ones that refused were either arrested or escorted out of the area and officers used pepper ball guns during that process.
(Photo: 6 News)