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.
“The issue is relevant because you have officers who consistently come into the community and assume by default that people fit a characteristic,” says Michael B., a local protester who asked for his last name to remain private. “You can’t prevent NYPD from hackling people.”
Michael echoed many of the same sentiments felt by protesters Thursday night. Yet, despite either claim, it is clear that the ongoing protests show that Gray’s death has only sparked the distrust of law enforcement in the African-American community.
“Kimani Gray’s death is one more example, of too many examples, of abusive tactics and the excessive use of force by the NYPD in low-income communities of color,” Rosa Squillacote, a policy advocate for the Police Reform Organizing Project, tells theGrio. “Members know and they fear that people and children in their communities might be the next target of NYPD quotas or NYPD brutality.”
Following over 40 arrests from protesters who demonstrated on Wednesday, Gray’s death has drawn media headlines and community activism from members who have decided to make their voices heard.
Despite the increasing protests, police say all proper protocols were followed.
According to the New York Times, John C. Cerar, former commander for firearms training at the Police Department, said: “Under the reported circumstances, it appears to be a good shooting,” agreeing with police commissioner Raymond W. Kelly who said there was “nothing to indicate that this shooting was outside the guidelines.”
Yet, the protests are ongoing and leading Thursday’s march was Kenny Carter, the president of F.A.I.T.H., Fathers Alive in the Hood — an organization that caters to the development of youth and addresses the issues of gang and gun violence in neighborhoods throughout New York.
“We came out for the simple fact that we’re not trying to see our youth get murdered,” Carter told theGrio. “A lot of times our kids are the victims and half the time they can’t even think for themselves, so they’re already misguided.”
The hour-long protest covered a span of 17 blocks as police stayed close, even plotting officers in several of the buses that rode down the avenue that night.
“Silence is consent,” said LaSalle. “It’s about us uniting against an injustice that if it’s not touched upon or talked about, will continue. This protest right now is showing that we’re not going to be silent, we’re not going to accept their lies and there will be justice.”
Follow Lilly Workneh @Lilly_Works
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