Tammy McNair had inhaled the tear gas. She and her friends watched the peppers balls fly.
However, the situation at Sunday’s Daniel Prude protest in Rochester was different.
The largest demonstration so far for the late Chicago resident who died after police responded to his mental health emergency- was also the most organized.
Two massive contingents stepped off, parade-style, from Broad and Exchange Sunday night for the Public Safety Building, led by faith community and civic leaders who set a tone.
The mayor and Spiritus Christi's Pastor Dr. Myra Brown called on elders to serve as a peaceful buffer at the PSB barricades for a crowd estimated by the Rochester Police Department at more than 1,000.
Some like City Councilor Mary Lupien had been there the night before, when things got out of hand.
“They let the protesters be and they let them come to where they needed to come to let them express how they're feeling about this,” Lupien said.
Cam Darazio of Webster had bought plastic totes just to fashion himself a shield from the pepper balls he'd seen fly the night before.
“This was more peaceful because people saw how things got so out of hand the last couple of nights,” Darazio said.
Rochester police say no arrests were made.
“The Rochester Police Department would like to thank our local and state law enforcement partners for their assistance and a special thanks to Dr. Myra Brown and a group of community elders for keeping the protest safe and allowing everyone’s voice to be heard,” read a statement from the RPD.
Tammy McNair will return Monday night. She’s glad the message of change in Daniel Prude’s death is spreading, being accomplished in downtown Rochester, without anyone getting hurt.
“There were no negative interactions between anybody,” McNair said. “And that was a good thing.”