Black Lives Matter protesters surrounded Mayor Eric Garcetti’s car following a town hall meeting in a South LA church that ended with the mayor getting shouted out of the building Monday night.
"If you are interested in having a civil conversation, we are going to ask you to remain here, if not, I am going to ask you to leave," Reverend Kelvin Sauls of the Holman United Methodist Church said to the crowd amid the chanting.
"Black lives, they matter here!" rumbled throughout the church before Garcetti was escorted by LAPD for his own safety.
Garcetti initially came to answer questions from citizens regarding economic opportunity and community safety before protestors began chanting.
But the event quickly turned to chaos as Black Lives Matter protesters rushed the podium.
As Garcetti attempted to leave with a heavy LAPD presence, protesters blocked his car.
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One person ran across the hood of the mayor's car.
The protesters continued to shout: "No justice, no peace. No racist police!"
Black Lives Matter protesters said they wanted meaningful dialogue with the mayor.
"The Black community has something to say to the mayor we want him to hear, as well as us engaging in his responses," Malina Abdullah, Black Lives Matter said.
Garcetti's office issued a statement following the incident, saying:
"Tonight, we had hundreds of South LA residents attend a community meeting - leaders, business owners, mothers and children, who took time out of their evening to discuss the critical issues that matter most to all of us. I am disappointed that our conversation was cut short when there is so much work for us to do together to make our neighborhoods stronger and safer. I believe in our City and my commitment to our shared concerns continues, stronger than ever."
