Kimani Gray protest day 4: Brooklyn community clashes with NYPD
theGRIO REPORT - The controversial death surrounding 16-year-old Kimani Gray has sparked a fourth day of protests in Brooklyn and theGrio headed out to East Flatbush to record the community’s sentiments.
NEW YORK – The controversy surrounding the death of 16-year-old Kimani Gray has sparked four days of protests in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Outraged and saddened members of the community attended a vigil Thursday night to honor the life of the young teen who was fatally shot by two undercover NYPD officers Saturday.
According to the police, Gray aimed a revolver at them which then lead the cops to open fire.
However, the family and community believe otherwise, saying that it was unlikely Gray would draw a weapon at the policemen.
“There’s the people story and then there’s the police story,” protester Jose LaSalle told theGrio. “The simple fact is that it’s a 16-year-old young man who died and people have had enough. They are angry and this happening to Kimani Gray has erupted their anger to a boiling point that they can’t contain anymore.”
As police and law enforcement lined the streets, protesters chanted “Justice for Kimani Gray” along Church Ave. in Brooklyn, following a press conference that was held earlier that day.
“So far all indications are that the young man had a gun,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the event where Gray’s mother spoke out for the first time asking others to “walk in my shoes and please understand my grief.”
It is a case that has exposed deep divisions between the police department and the city’s minority population.
