LOS ANGELES – A restaurant owner near Los Angeles is sharing her experience of aiding police officers who were affected by tear gas during riots just outside her eatery on June 7.

Elizabeth Mendoza owns La Ceiba Restaurant, a Salvadoran dining spot in Long Beach. She revealed to Fox News Digital that on that Saturday afternoon, she opened her doors to both police officers and protesters who came in for assistance after being pepper-sprayed.

“I feel sad because my city … it’s a good city,” she expressed. “My people are honest and very hardworking. I’ve been here for 14 years, and I know my community well. It hurts to see what happened … when I saw the police. They needed help, too, because they are human just like me. They feel everything as I do.”

“They have to … work,” she said, adding she has received thanks from police for helping officers that day

A police officer’s face is covered in pepper spray outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles June 8, 2025, after an immigration raid protest. (Jae Hong)

The rioting continued into the weekend and ensuing weeknights.