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Residents prepare for protest on Camelback near the Biltmore

Posted at 11:14 PM, Jul 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-15 14:33:45-04

Neighborhood opinion is split on a street near the site of a planned Friday sit-in protest in Phoenix.

Protesters plan to shut down the intersection at 24th Street and Camelback Road Friday evening, one week after a march through downtown Phoenix shut down streets and sparked a confrontation between police and some protesters.

"We just want to make sure that our houses our safe, our family's safe,” said a man who lives steps from the planned protest scene. The man declined to provide his name. He voiced concern that the protesters could march into or near his neighborhood.

He alluded to the pockets of violence that marked the end of last week’s protest in Phoenix. Several protesters were arrested; video shows men throwing rocks toward police, and officers using tear gas and pepper spray.

But a resident several doors down from the concerned family man did not share the worry.

“We’re not going to go anywhere,” Shawn Moats said, noting that he had received questions about whether he would leave his home Friday evening. 

“We’re not too concerned.”

Opinion about what to do, and the event's impact, similarly split businesses near the busy intersection.

Police declined an interview request regarding whether detours will be set up before the protest begins.