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St. Petersburg PD arrests 14 protesters they say attacked officers with a water meter cover

Police say rocks, bottles also used in attack
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg police arrested 14 people demonstrating outside the department's headquarters after officers said they threw rocks, water bottles and a water meter cover at police.

The arrests happened just before 11 p.m. on Sunday after several hours of peaceful protests throughout the weekend. Tear gas was not used to contain the attacks, according to the police department. Instead, officers said they dispensed smoke.

Mayor Rick Kriseman showed his support for the police department on Twitter following the arrests.

VIDEO BLOG: Violent protests continue in Tampa, police begin using non-lethal force

More than 100 people protested peacefully outside the St. Petersburg Police Department Sunday while the chief and mayor held a press conference.
 
“If you are protesting peacefully, we want that, we welcome that,” said Chief Anthony Holloway.
 

Sunday afternoon, protesters began their march downtown past city hall, attempting to block intersections. 
 
Inside the emergency operations center, police manned phones and kept an eye on the march. They were ready to intervene, but said they were trying not to. 
 
“If you violate the law, break the law, damage any property, do anything to any one of our citizens or one of our police officers, you are going to jail,” said Holloway.