YOUNGSTOWN — Crowds were dispersed about a half hour after a citywide 12-hour curfew went into effect in light of daylong rallies and sporadic reports of windows being broken and police cruisers being surrounded by protesters.

The large gatherings, which started in the late morning and lasted into the evening, led to Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown at 8:30 p.m. Sunday declaring a civil emergency and ordering a curfew in the city as a result of “mob action and other civil disobedience.”

Youngstown police Chief Robin Lees said his department had been downtown throughout the day but around dusk when the curfew began, they moved into the Federal Street area to disperse the crowd.

“We confronted what was left of the core walking group on Federal Street, and they were not dispersing, so we started making arrests.”

He said when the crowd realized they were going to be arrested, some fled toward Commerce Street, where a large group of Ohio State Highway Patrol officers assisted in controlling the group.

About 20 Mahoning County Sheriff deputies assisted also.

“We called in basically all of our law enforcement partners and asembled a large contingent of police and pushed into the downtown and decided enough was enough,” Lees said. “We spent the entire day trying to avoid a confrontation, but we discussed it with the mayor and he issued a proclamation for a curfew and went out and enforced it.”

Brown’s curfew order, which includes the closing of all businesses and all city streets to motor vehicles and pedestrians except for emergency vehicles, shall remain in effect for 12 hours.

By 9:30 p.m., downtown streets were clear.

Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene reported 12 arrests Sunday night — 10 for violating curfew and two for assault of a police officer. No names of arrestees were given.

Reports had large crowds gathering around dusk surrounding police cruisers at the corner of Market and Boardman streets in downtown Youngstown. Earlier in the day, two separate rallies in the downtown netted minor incidents including the breaking of windows at Choffin Career Center and the United Way office off Wood Street.

Separate reports had crowd blocking traffic on the Market Street bridge and on Interstate 680 just south of the downtown area.

Earlier, reports of a large crowd gathering in the Wick Park area had prompted businesses to close on their own on the Belmont Avenue strip of Liberty Township, according to Sgt. Ray Buhala of the Liberty Police Department.

A group of about 300 had gathered late Sunday afternoon at the intersection of Market and Front streets all falling to their knees. Many sang the black national anthem and chanted, “I can’t breathe,” referencing the death of George Floyd’s pleas to a police officer in Minneapolis. Floyd died at the scene, sparking protests across the country.

“We are here as part of a movement that is taking place all over America right now. You see what is happening in all those cities across America. There is a reason for this to be happening. We are part of a very important movement that is tired of what has been taking place in this country. Our voices are going to be heard,” said Lea Dotson who was among those speaking to the crowd.

After her speech, the crowd began chanting “black lives matter” as they marched onto the Market Street bridge heading south from downtown.

Police and other law enforcement had some of the streets blocked off and watched from the sides of the roads as the group marched and shouted.

Tasia Ford of Youngstown, one of the protest organizers, said it is very important that people use their voices to make a difference in what has happened too many times to black men and others.

“We are not here to be on Facebook live or Instagram. We are here to use our voices and be heard for what has been taking place too long in America,” Ford said.

Greene said one person was arrested for criminal trespass in the afternoon as minor damage was sustained, including what the sheriff heard was a police cruiser with a smashed window.

“We have been monitoring it very closely. The large group has been moving around different parts of the city and the area. They were in the downtown area and then over at Stambaugh Auditorium,” Greene said.

A police car approached one downtown intersection and protesters pushed it back with some sitting on the hood before letting the officer go.

U.S. Marshals also were deployed at the federal courthouse, but they were at a distance and watching, Greene said.

“Whatever is transpiring now, is not in any way affiliated with the beautiful, yet forceful collective call for justice that occurred earlier. There is a way to share your views without violence. However, just because one is non-violent, doesn’t mean they are passive: We must speak truth to power while power is before us, even when that means calling out a congressman,” Pastor Todd Johnson of Warren posted early Sunday evening on his Facebook page.

Boardman police Chief Todd Werth said the township police were being cautious and had extra officers on duty, but had no issues in the township Sunday.

He said while businesses were not told to close early, some such as Walmart off South Avenue and Target in the Shops at Boardman Park, chose to do so.

“Our focus is on keeping everyone safe. Extra police are on staff so we have resources in place. We are more concerned when people from outside of the area come in not to have a rally or protest but cause other issues,” Werth said.

He said police are watching the situation and paying attention to social media and also keeping in contact with the Youngstown Police Department and Mahoning County Sheriff Office.

The Liberty Walmart also closed early with two police cruisers sitting in the parking lot. Youngstown State University sent out an alert asking people to avoid campus and the downtown area, though there was no immediate threat to campus.

Jonathan Fauvie, Mercy Health spokesman, said the St. Elizabeth hospital campuses in Boardman and Youngstown were on lockdown late Sunday afternoon as a precaution. Fauvie said the action did not involve the emergency room, which was the only door open for people entering the hospital.

Campbell Mayor Nick Phillips also instituted a curfew for his city effective 9 p.m. Sunday. Phillips said Facebook posts are indicating that the businesses in the suburbs are listed as primary targets, as well as area police departments.

“We will not give them that chance. Stay inside after dark, if no one is outside to add to the confusion, our city will not be a viable target for them, because these are small groups looking to infiltrate larger groups,” Phillips said.

The city of Struthers also had imposed a curfew for Sunday night and early this morning.

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