Chaotic city council meetings are becoming a regular occurrence in the City of Stockton, where heated protests disrupted public discussions for the second time in a row on Tuesday.
The meeting began peacefully but devolved into chaos after a Black Lives Matter protester attempted to speak out of turn. Mayor Michael Tubbs rebuffed him, leading to a confrontation with several other demonstrators in in the room.
Tubbs stopped the meeting and police were called in with riot gear. Then out came the slices of pizza, which were thrown in the faces of officers. Video shows people being pushed and shoved in a hallway as demonstrators were being escorted out of the building.
"In a city of 315,000 people, I refuse to allow a vocal group of five to disrupt the orderly business of the council," Tubbs said once calm had been restored. "If you are going to continue to disrupt council business and council meetings, you will continue to get thrown out until the message gets understood."
Tensions have been running high in the city following a spate of officer-involved shootings. After the meeting, Mayor Tubbs said he reached out to the mother of one of the young men who had been killed by police.