Video shows tense moments as Atlanta police arrest protestors

INMAN PARK, Ga. - Atlanta police arrested 18 people Friday during a wave of protests ignited by a lack of charges in connection to Breonna Taylor’s shooting death.

The department said that number could change and has not yet released the charges in the arrests, but witnesses told FOX 5’s Emilie Ikeda protestors were taken into custody for being in the roadway.

It appears most, if not all, of the 18 arrests were made near Highland Avenue in the Inman Park and Old Fourth Ward area, shortly after 9 p.m.

One demonstrator said protestors were marching “peacefully” when they ran into officers staged near the bridge over the BeltLine. That's when witnesses said officers started arresting people without warning.

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In one video, you can hear someone ask, “Why are they being detained?” One officer responded, "For blocking the roadway." Another officer added, “There is a law that you cannot be in the middle of the roadway, there’s your warning right there.”

Another perspective shows people running during tense moments on Highland Avenue. The witness wrote on Twitter, in part, “Craziest thing I’ve ever seen outside my house. Seemingly peaceful protest turned to chaos. Police were lined up waiting.”

There were numerous protests across the city Friday, demanding for police reform and an end to no-knock warrants, including a demonstration organized by the Atlanta NAACP and The People’s Uprising, marching from APD headquarters to the Georgia State Capitol. That event appeared to peacefully disperse by 9 p.m.

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