Police Address Community After Protests Last Night

Law enforcement addressed the unlawful assembly.

-- i'm dan shaffer.

And i'm najahe sherman.

Tonight -- many people are still trying to understand the events that happened in downtown huntsville last night -- including the use of force by police.

Earlier today -- law enforcement addressed the unlawful assembly.

Here's what they had to say.

"it's a lot better a lot better putting down a little irritant gas than going in there with shields and clubs and trying to run the people out that way."

"they by their own refusal to obey a lawful order this was on them.

Not on us.

How many minutes would you like for me to give them and lose this?

"this is how you handle people who breaking the law doing damage to your city.

"we provided that area unpermitted to march around there and stand outside for 90 minutes.

But then the whole tensions changed as they brought out the masks, the goggles and all the bags started coming out."

So what you saw was a typical way of dispersing with the least amount of force.

They wanted to fight.

We don't want to fight we just want them to go home..

You ask why gas?

Gas is a long distance irritant dispersed.

It's the easiest way to make you uncomfortable there.

Without harming you.

You smelled it.

You were uncomfortable with it.

You were really uncomfortable if you were down on the street."

24 arrests last night 20 of them went for disorderly conduct, refusing to leave.

They were in the park refusing to go.

We had moved them around the town several times.

Finally, got tired of chasing them.

They were throwing things at us.

Throwing ice bottles at us.

Throwing rocks at us, picking up things as i go.

I'm sorry but they're about to break out windows, which they did break out a bunch of store business windows.

I have several cars that were damaged.

I have 2 officers that were injured.

One of them with light trauma to the head and one of them that says he's okay.

He had a helmet on .

He was beat down on the head several times with some objects and he is okay and they're both back at work today, but like i said light injuries this time that we didn't have on monday.

Kevin turner "let me tell you this about mr. burnet and the naacp.

It was not his group.

It was not his group.

You could tell it was a fine line between the people in the park and the people who came up on that square.

We're joined now by waay 31's sydney martin.

She was at today's briefing and at the protests last