Update: Stockton police say its officers arrested five students during the protest. Police say most students were peaceful but five students ranging in age from 14 to 18 were arrested and accused of battery on an officer and resisting arrest. Police also reported students throwing rocks and damaging their vehicles.
“We do support the freedom to protest peacefully and freedom of speech," Stockton Police Department’s Public Information Officer Joe Silva said. "While the majority of the students were peaceful today, we don’t condone the violence which was committed by a small handful of students. It’s unacceptable to batter a police officer and especially to take an officer’s baton.”
Police say hundreds of students protested outside the city's high schools.
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Original story:
Police in Stockton are advising commuters to avoid the area around Stagg High School after students staged a walk out.
According to the Stockton Police Department, a student protest is occupying the area of March Lane and Pershing Avenue.
All the schools in the Stockton Unified School selected Friday, Feb. 23, as a day to stage their protest.
Sherry Jackson, Cesar Chavez High School, said the students walked out because they're tired of violence at schools, both in their neighborhood and across the country.
"They're peacefully protesting," Jackson said. "They're able to articulate why they want to be out and they've made their choice."
Jackson said the students at her high school will be marked as truant for missing class.
This is a developing story. Stay with ABC10 for more information as it becomes available.