COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Protesters unhappy with the Compton Unified School District's decision to allow school officers to carry assault rifles on campus laid down in the streets Friday.



The group of about 20 people blocked traffic on Rosecrans and Wilmington avenues in Compton to make a point.



"What we're doing today is a 'die-in,'" said Mark-Anthony Johnson, who organized the protest. "We want to give people a very vivid image of what it looks like when black and brown bodies are on the ground."



Protester Jasmine Richards said Police Chief William Wu and the district did not solicit feedback from parents.



"They made a unanimous decision without allowing any feedback from parents to say it's okay to put AR-15's, which are military assault rifles, into schools with children," Richards said.



Wu issued a statement in response to the protest: "These rifles give us greater flexibility in dealing with a person with bad intent who comes onto any of our campuses. The officers will keep the rifles in the trunks of their cars, unless they are needed. It should also be pointed out that many other community and school law enforcement departments already have these weapons."



Martha Camacho-Rodriguez, a special education teacher in the Compton school district, worries about her students, some of whom, when they have emotional outbursts, can appear physically threatening.



"No student is carrying a sign that says I have a disability. And so they would be an easy target," Camacho-Rodriguez said.



The protest remained peaceful and demonstrators only blocked traffic for a few minutes before returning to the sidewalk.





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