Santa Rosa police arrest more than 75 people out past curfew

Santa Rosa police officers arrested more than 75 people out after curfew Tuesday night and towed more than 20 vehicles following a protest of police brutality, police said Wednesday.

Hundreds gathered around 5 p.m. Tuesday in a parking lot in the 700 block of Sebastopol Road to hold a vigil for Andy Lopez, a 13-year-old who was fatally shot in 2013 by a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy while holding an airsoft gun resembling an AK-47 rifle. 

By 6:20 p.m., the group had ballooned to roughly 700 people and the vigil turned to a protest of police brutality. Shortly afterward, people began marching down westbound Sebastopol Road toward the intersection with Stony Point Road. 

The group of roughly 300 people then made its way toward Old Courthouse Square, according to police. Officers blocked an on-ramp to U.S. Highway 101 near the intersection of Third and Wilson streets. Officers arrested several protesters who allegedly threw bottles at officers, were driving recklessly and attempted to set up sideshows.

Protesters continued marching past the city's 8 p.m. curfew, setting off fireworks in residential neighborhoods and throwing rocks at parked vehicles, according to police.

Officers also arrested 30-year-old Santa Rosa resident Jordan Choat for carrying an unloaded shotgun to see how law enforcement would react to a white man holding a gun, police said.

At 10:35 p.m., officers from the Santa Rosa Police Department and other allied agencies took the remaining protesters into custody for violating the curfew. Officers did not use tear gas or rubber bullets to make protesters disperse and those arrested were compliant, according to police. 

People who witnessed illegal activity Tuesday night are encouraged to contact the Santa Rosa police at (707) 528-5222.