Santa Rosa police chief kneels in solidarity with protesters but condemns nightly violence

Only 10 months into his role as Santa Rosa police chief, Ray Navarro has encountered a fine line: with sometimes-violent protests washing over the city the past two nights, clamp down or work with the demonstrators?

He’s chosen both.

After two nights of increasingly violent demonstrations throughout mostly downtown Santa Rosa, the city declared a state of emergency and City Manager Sean McGlynn imposed a three-day citywide nighttime curfew starting Monday evening.

Officers from throughout the area will patrol Santa Rosa from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. in an effort to stamp out protests before they have the chance to turn violent. Anyone out between those hours risks arrest.

But at the same time, Navarro, a 28-year veteran of the police department and the agency’s first Latino chief, decided it was time to show solidarity and sympathy with peaceful protesters.

So, in the sunny, noontime expanse of Santa Rosa’s downtown square, Navarro took a knee Monday with a large group of young people staging a sit-in at Old Courthouse Square.

“I wanted to let them know I was supporting them,” Navarro said. “I don’t think what happened in Minneapolis was right and I don’t think you’re going to find any police officer that says that was right thing to do.”

The act mirrored the gestures of demonstrators across the nation, which has been gripped by protests over the killing of a black man, George Floyd, by a white Minneapolis police officer. Many of those protests, in big cities, and now in Santa Rosa, have devolved nightly into street violence and vandalism.

Navarro said his intent was meant to offer a bridge and signal - that “we’re in this together,” he said.

“The people who were kneeling were part of my community. Partly, it was in respect to the people I was there speaking with, but also to show solidarity with the community that we do not want what happened in Minneapolis to happen here, and we don’t want what has happened in the larger cities to happen here.”

Other members of his department were on hand as well, and the agency published photos of Navarro kneeling on social media, accompanied by the hashtags #georgefloyd, #strongertogether and #santarosa.

Navarro’s department has already had its share of trauma and hardship this year with the loss of veteran detective Marylou Armer to COVID-19 in late March and the transition to emergency staffing to stay safe themselves while policing the city during the pandemic.

Now come near daily protests, and the specter of nighttime mayhem.

Two nights of turmoil over the weekend already have forced the department back into emergency mode with shifts of 12 hours on and 12 off.

Officers have watched as peaceful demonstrations have given way after dark to vandals smashing windows, spraying graffiti and breaking into businesses. Other police departments from throughout the region have helped the past two nights and were on call again Monday night. Police have used rubber bullets and tear gas to quell disturbances after they declared them unlawful and ordered people to leave.

One man was arrested overnight Sunday on suspicion of looting and three others the night before for failing to disperse after being ordered to leave. Authorities said Monday night could see similar disorder, despite the curfew.

Navarro has watched other cities and law enforcement leaders respond to the unrest, in ways that he thought were good and bad.

Scenes from Santa Cruz, Flint, Michigan and other places have shown law enforcement officers marching with protesters. Other cities have seen violent skirmishes, looting, arson and mass destruction.

Monday afternoon, as masses of young people gathered again for a sit-in on the lawn of Old Courthouse Square, the epicenter of protest activity, Navarro took a knee to share a message with them.

“I wanted to let them know we’re taking this seriously,” he said. “It’s a personal thing for me. This is impacting us all. ”

Even as he spoke, someone in the crowd began arguing with those gathered, the chief said. He wasn’t sure what it was about.

“We need to allow people to peacefully protest,” he said. “But we can’t have people antagonize them. We are concerned we have other people who may latch onto the group and cause problems.”

He asked the group to continue to protest nonviolently.

“We all live here, work here. It’s important to stand together against something like this and, really, to support our own town,” Navarro said.

“I have my staff, their families, I have the community to think about,” he said. “It’s OK to be loud and make your voice heard, but it has to be peaceful. We will not tolerate violence.”