This black family tried to protect a store from looters. Armed police arrested them on live TV

A group of black people who were trying to help a store in Los Angeles that was being targetted by looters were detained by police on live television.

While reporting on the looting that was taking place in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles, Fox 11's Christina Gonzalez noticed a group of people who were trying to protect a liquor store from suspected looters.

The scene saw the people and the store owners, who were armed with shotguns, attempting the fend off the looters and flag down the passing by police.

When the police arrived at the scene they then detained and handcuffed the three black people who had been acting as good samaritans only for Gonzalez to stop them and tell them they were arresting the wrong people.

The audibly shocked anchors back in the studio admitted that the incident was one of the most 'surreal' things they had ever witnessed.

As Fox 11 reports, the group was later released and no charges were pressed against them. Speaking afterward, the woman in the footage, who is named Monet, said that she was 'fine' and added that she has known the man who owns the store for 30 years. She suspected that the looters were trying to rob a nearby gold store and got into a confrontation with them. In regard to the actions by the police she said:

I was handcuffed and thrown against a wall, with my husband, my brother-in-law and I was like 'what the hell?'

The news people are here they are telling you it's not her. She's trying to stop the situation. I understand the protest. I understand what this is about. I get it, I understand that. I'm fighting for the same protest but we don't want people from other cities to come and tear [apart] where we live because we have to rebuild this. We did this once before. I understand the anger. 

Monet then added that she wanted to see the police officer who killed George Floyd charged with first-degree murder and for the other police officers who allowed Floyd's death to happen to also be arrested. Monet also compared the outrage and the violence that has escalated in the past few days to the Los Angeles riots of 1992 which were caused after footage was released of police beating up an unarmed black man Rodney King.

In regards to the incident Gonzalez apologised if her intervention had in anyway caused the police to handcuff her and her family and were released once the store owner told the police that they were innocent. She added:

I get it. I understand they're [the officers] are tired. They're worn-out too. We've been worn out. I'm 55, we're tired too. The same injustice you did to us years ago, and my father and forefathers, you guys are doing to our young black men and our young black women, including Latinos.

I tell my children this all the time, 'One second of your thinking can cost you your life or someone else's life.'

This white gentleman who was a police officer who was here to protect and serve, one second of his thinking cost someone else their life, which is about to cost your family their life, and costing people their business.