WALLER COUNTY, Texas – Four Waller County Sheriff's deputies suffered minor injuries Sunday during a large protest in front of the Waller County Jail.
According to Sheriff Glenn Smith, three of the deputies walked away with busted lips and one was knocked to the ground after someone slapped him across the forehead with a large water bottle. None of the deputies were transported to the hospital.
It all began with what organizers call a racial justice rally.
Hundreds of people gathered at the jail Sunday at 5 p.m. to protest the deaths of Sandra Bland and Michael Brown.
Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri.
Organizers picked to have the protest at the Waller County Jail where Bland was found dead in her jail cell on July 13, three days after she was arrested during a traffic stop.
Protesters said the message is clear -- relations between police and people of color have to change.
"For all those who have been affected by inequality, oppression or police brutality, we welcome you and stand by you," protester Brandy Holmes said.
In the midst of the protest, passions flared and the large crowd started pushing its way into the lobby of the Waller County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies responded by pushing a number of protestors out and closing the doors, sealing a number of protesters inside.
The crowd yelled for their release and minutes later, protesters were escorted out a back door.
"They came in armed and ready, pushed us out, they trapped some people inside," protester Jinaki Muhammad said. "We demanded their release. They wouldn't let them out the front door, they let them out the side door."No arrests were made and the rally ended peacefully.