Angels Camp, CA…The Black Lives Matter protests at the corner of Hwy 4 & Hwy 49 on Friday afternoon was peaceful and a busy one. When we stopped by shortly after 5pm the crowd had already started to fade. According to Calaveras Sheriff Rick DiBasilio who we spoke with at the event the crowds were much larger between 3-5pm. He was not only glad the protests were peaceful but that members of the community had the opportunity to make their voices heard.

The City of Angels Camp did impose a precautionary curfew for the weekend that was later lifted on Saturday. Members of the Tuolumne Sheriff’s Dept & Sonora Police came over to lend a hand if needed as they joined the Angels Camp Police Dept, Calaveras Sheriff’s Dept & California Highway Patrol.

While we may not have the most ethnically diverse population base in our local counties you could tell that the sorrow and anger felt hat an act like the taking of George Floyd’s life could still happen in 2020.

The debate on the best path forward on policing and race issues marches on and shows little sign of waning. Historians are comparing 2020 to 1968. The difference seen now is the protestors cover a much wider segment o the population now.