Several scuffles broke out and 10 people were arrested during a protest in downtown Los Angeles late Wednesday night, the latest in a series of nationwide demonstrations following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin.
The crowd, initially numbering about 300, took to the streets and marched around downtown through the evening.
About 11 p.m., some in the crowd began spray-painting graffiti on glass doors of the U.S. Bank Tower on West 5th Street.
A protester is chased by an LAPD officer as police converge on demonstrators in the 3rd Street tunnel.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
From there, protesters marched into the 3rd Street tunnel, where they were corralled by Los Angeles police officers, who set up skirmish lines at both ends of the underpass.
The situation then took a violent turn, with scuffles breaking out between some officers and protesters.
Video from KABC-TV showed one protester swinging what looked to be a makeshift shield at an officer and others throwing objects toward police. Some officers appeared to push protesters to the ground and fire less-lethal munitions.
“They had already destroyed property. They refused to obey a lawful order to disperse. They were observed to be in possession of prohibited weapons” — including brass knuckles and baseball bats, LAPD Assistant Chief Horace Frank said Thursday.
Protesters march through the 3rd Street tunnel in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Ten people were arrested on charges including suspicion of vandalism, battery of a police officer and unlawfully attempting to take a person from police custody, according to authorities.
LAPD Officer Mike Chance said Thursday morning that the department is still assessing how many protesters or officers may have been injured, as well as the extent of any vandalism.
Wednesday’s protest was among many nationwide in response to the shooting of Blake, 29, in Kenosha, Wis., as well as the deaths of two people who were killed this week during protests there. Cellphone video shows Blake being shot as he leaned into his car with his children inside. Blake is hospitalized in serious condition and is paralyzed.
An injured protester is helped by a comrade during a confrontation with LAPD officers in the 3rd Street tunnel.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Kenosha police officials have said officers were responding to a call about a domestic dispute and did not immediately say why they shot Blake. Kenosha County Dist. Atty. Michael Graveley is investigating the shooting with the Wisconsin Justice Department’s Division of Criminal Investigation.
The shooting has sparked outrage and demonstrations nationwide.
Liliana Ruiz roller skates in front of LAPD officers in the 3rd Street tunnel.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Between 600 and 700 people took part Wednesday in what authorities characterized as destructive and violent protests in Oakland.
At one point, some in the crowd started a fire at the Alameda County Superior Courthouse — one of a number of blazes set throughout the night, according to the Oakland Police Department. Multiple businesses were reportedly vandalized and several arrests were made.
Hundreds have demonstrated nightly this week in Kenosha, defying city curfews and clashing with law enforcement. Police on Wednesday arrested a teenager in the fatal shooting of two people during the protests. Several Kenosha County supervisors asked Wisconsin’s Democratic governor Wednesday to send in 1,250 additional National Guard members to the city to reinforce the 250 already patrolling.

A demonstrator speaks to the crowd during a protest in downtown L.A. before entering the 3rd Street tunnel.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
On Monday, hundreds of protesters also marched past LAPD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles to denounce Blake’s shooting. Protesters at one point moved a metal barricade that had been set up at the building’s perimeter, video from the scene showed. Police declared the protest an unlawful assembly about 11:20 p.m. There were also reports of police firing projectiles into the crowd.
NBA players refused to take the court Wednesday for their scheduled playoff games following days of impassioned statements by players and coaches around the league about the relationship between Black people and police in the United States.
Teams in other sports, including the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, followed suit.
Hundreds gather to demonstrate in favor of Senate Bill 107 that seeks to defund police departments in downtown Los Angeles.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

People take a knee to touch the ground during a Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and Build Power gathering in downtown L.A.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
City News Service contributed to this report.