“I think that people forget this is private property,” Jarvis explained. “When they were on on the sidewalks and streets and things like that, that’s public property. This is private property. The mall decides what goes on and what doesn’t.”
Jarvis moved to Beavercreek in 2002, because he said it shared his values of family, school, education, work and business. He said today race isn’t a problem there. “As a black man in this community, it’s a fantastic community.”
“When I came on to city council five years ago, the city was 92 percent white,” Jarvis said. “It’s now 88 percent white. It’s becoming more and more diverse. The residents here have no problems with that.”
“This (the protest) is being instigated by people from outside, from Dayton, from Cincinnati, from other cities that are surrounding us that see this as an opportunity, I think, to further their own initiatives,” said Jarvis.
UPDATE @ 1:30 p.m.
Protester Vernellia R. Randall, retired professor of law at the University of Dayton, said she was arrested by police on allegations including trespassing.
Randall said she was arrested as police forced the protesters out of the mall.
“They were moving us out and everybody got backed up because there were so many people and so I couldn’t move,” Randall said of the moments before her arrest. “I couldn’t move forward. And the police behind me, pushed me really hard in the back … I have equilibrium problems I started to fall. The people around me caught me.”
Randall has written extensively on race, women and healthcare and was a recipient of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health Chairman’s Award, according to her biographical information on the university’s website.
Randall was also named one of the “Top 10 Most Influential African-Americans” on the 2001 Black Equal Opportunity Employment Journal list, according to the university.
UPDATE @ 1:05 p.m.
The crowd of protesters dispersed after several were arrested.
Beavercreek police and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office were assisted by Fairborn police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Patrol Lt. Douglas Eck said no one was hurt in the clash.
Those who were arrested were loaded into vans and were told they were to be transported to either the Greene County Jail or the Fairborn city jail.
The mall was crowded with holiday shoppers at the time of the planned protest.
UPDATE @ 12:34 p.m.
At least one person was put in restraints as a large crowd of protesters stood nearby.
Several officers stood in front of the protesters, many of whom were recording the events on their cell phones.
UPDATE @ 12:26 p.m.
Some of the protesters are being detained.
BREAKING REPORT
A crowd of about 75 people has gathered at the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek for a “die in” protest.
Police and security are on the scene and the crowd is chanting.
Some hung a large banner from the second floor that reads “Black Lives Matter.”
Mall officials are telling the protesters that if they do not leave, they will be arrested.
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