The death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man killed while in the Minneapolis police department’s custody this week, sparked outrage and protests across the country, including Columbus.
Downtown, demonstrators gathered Thursday evening in solidarity with protestors in Minneapolis and in Louisville, where the death of Breonna Taylor in March has also caused unrest.
With its own set of police brutality incidents in the last few years, the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery — who was chased by a former police officer and his son in a South Georgia neighborhood in February — has become an unfortunate but familiar narrative for Columbus residents.
Columbus photographer David Mason III arrived on the scene around 8 p.m., when people had already begun congregating in large numbers.
“People had already been maced when I got there, they were washing their faces in [the] Huntington building coin fountain,” he says.
He was there well into the next morning. By that point, mace and tear gas had already been released by the Columbus Division of Police.
“I knew the risks before I got there, I was maced twice,” he says. “Luckily there are plenty of people running around with water and milk.”
Also in Columbus, at Livingston Avenue and Lockbourne Road another protest was held earlier in the day.
Thursday was the second day protests took place at the intersection. On the first night, Columbus resident Christopher Radden was arrested by Columbus police while protesting.
On the afternoon of Friday, May 29, fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was arrested after Floyd’s fatal arrest.
David Mason’s work can be found at thedreamcatchers.studio.
Katie Forbes’ work can be found at krforbesphotography.com.