As violent riots and protests escalated around the country following the death of George Floyd, who died in Minnesota on Monday after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, a group of about 50 protestors took a more peaceful approach in Turlock on Friday.

With signs calling for justice, participants in the demonstration along Geer Road wore masks and distanced themselves as they called for an end to police brutality in America.

“I was kind of fed up and sick with everything that I was seeing going on in the country at the moment,” said Elisha Coleman, who organized the protest.

It’s Coleman’s hope that Turlock can start its own branch of the Black Lives Matter movement, he said.

“I thought, this hasn’t happened here and I don’t want it to happen here, so I’m going to go ahead and make the situation aware in my community in order to spread awareness about police brutality and things that are going on in the nation to ensure that this doesn’t happen in my hometown,” Coleman said. “What we’re hoping is that we can plant the seed to start an organized movement in this area...I’m just a working, average dude tired of seeing this happen.”

- Frankie Tovar contributed to this report.