Arizona Police Injured During Pro-Immigrant Protest

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By Amber Randall

Police officers in Tuscon, Ariz. suffered injuries as they patrolled an immigration protest Thursday night.

One officer got hit in the face while another officer was hit in the back, reports Tuscon.com.  None of the officers had to go to the hospital as the injuries were not serious.

Police arrested three men on suspicions of aggravated assault and a woman for several misdemeanor charges, according to Tucson Police Sgt. Pete Dugan.

The protest against immigration policies from the White House started out peacefully but then escalated. Approximately a hundred people gathered on Congress Street in Tuscon to demonstrate. When protesters began to march, officers stepped in to ask them to move because they were blocking traffic.

Officers tried to arrest someone who threw an object and pepper sprayed the crowd when it tried to intervene.

“All we’re doing is letting our voices be heard and that can’t even happen. They pepper spray and throw the lady on the ground,” one protester said.

A 65 year-old lady maintained that the police pepper sprayed her as well.

“Another elderly woman was thrown on the road and her head hit the ground. I went to help her when she and I were pepper sprayed,” Brenda Baker said. “There were some marchers on the sidewalk and some were in the street.”

Dugan said that an investigation is being launched into the officers’ conduct at the protest to ensure that they adhered to proper standards.

“We have been demonstrating and marching for two years, and we never have had an issue with the police. This is appalling,” an organizer for the protest said.

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