A protest that originated at City Hall and worked its way North ended at the intersection of Broad Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue Friday evening, after several protesters attempted to get into Morgan Hall and Bank of America.
Glen Ehly, a Temple Police officer and past president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #105, said the protest was a combination of an anti-Trump and anti-police rally.
“After [the protest] got here, a number of the protesters tried to work their way into Morgan Hall and one with a bullhorn apparently got in,” he said.
The protester, among others who got inside Morgan Hall’s lower dining area, criticized Temple Police for the murder of of 24-year-old Joyce Quaweay. Police allege Quaweay was beaten to death by former TUPD officers Marquis Robinson and Aaron Wright.
Ehly said someone then screamed from inside Morgan Hall, “Take the f—— bank!”
There were several Philadelphia Police officers outside of Bank of America, located in The Shops at Avenue North. The officers prevented some of the protesters from entering the bank. The protesters then sprayed the officers “in the face with some kind of chemical irritant like pepper spray [or] mace,” Ehly said.
“After that, it kind of got into a melee situation,” he said. “Several of the protesters were arrested and several of the Philly officers were taken to Hahnemann Hospital for treatment.”
The protesters also threw powder at a Temple Police corporal and a Temple Police officer, but both were uninjured, said Charlie Leone, the executive director of Campus Safety Services. He added that these officers are at Central Detectives giving statements for arrests.
Leone said three Philadelphia police officers were injured.
Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter via @ChristieJules.
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