Arrests following student demonstration

Riverside, Ca- Students at several Riverside high schools held assemblies or protest marches Monday, March 27, regarding an immigration bill currently before Congress. Most were peaceful.

A group of about 200 students from John W. North and Riverside Poly high schools converged on the Main Street Pedestrian Mall in Downtown Riverside, outside City Hall and the Riverside County Courthouse, between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. in a peaceful demonstration. The groups dispersed before noon.

Between 11:30 and noon, a second group of more than 200 students, left Norte Vista High School on a march to La Sierra High School. While at La Sierra, one juvenile male marcher refused an order to disperse and assaulted a police officer by grabbing the front of his uniform. The student was repelled with pepper spray and arrested. Additional units from Riverside Police, Riverside County Sheriff’s and California Highway Patrol responded to the scene. The crowd of 150-200 students began to march back to Norte Vista via an indirect route.

Shortly after 1 p.m., the group of marchers began walking into traffic lanes, disrupting traffic on Tyler Street near Wells Avenue. Police made several orders for the crowd to disperse. Rocks and bottles were thrown at officers. The windshield of a police car was broken; there were no significant injuries.

Six more males were arrested – five juveniles and one adult. Further identification or student status is not available at this time.

Police units were also deployed to the Ramona High School area, where an assembly took place late in the school day, but there were no incidents.