Police tear gas ends Olympic protest near Opening Ceremony site

RIO DE JANEIRO — An Olympics protest march turned nasty on Friday near the site of the Opening Ceremony as police fired tear gas into a crowd by a playground.

The protest began in North Rio and slowly made its way toward Maracana Stadium before police in riot gear dispersed the marchers with tear gas that had even some parents and children running for clear air.

The march began peacefully in the late afternoon, but then protesters turned over some tables, chairs and food displays at a local store. Later, before the police crackdown, demonstrators pulled down a Brazil flag in the playground park and set fire to it.

The protesters had an array of grievances, including complaints about Brazil interim president Michel Temer, police behavior and the displacement of favela residents in the city.

One store worker, who had pulled her front gate closed for safety, was upset with the demonstrators. “This is not the moment for this,” she said.

There are no confirmed injuries as of this writing, although one protester said he was tackled and punched by police at a gas station.

The tension subsided about an hour before the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Rio Games, the first Olympics ever in South America.