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A crowd gathered in Portland to protest the police shooting of a 27-year-old Patrick Kimmons who was gunned down by police on Sept. 30.
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The crowd assembled in remembrance of Kimmons who was reportedly killed by Sgt. Garry Britt and officer Jeffrey Livingston, OPB.com reports. The officers are on administrative leave. His mother Letha Winston and family members were on hand, fighting for justice in Kimmons’ name.
“No mother wants to go before their child,” said Victoria Mohammad, Kimmons’ grandmother. “She has to carry that burden for life — her baby.”
But while officers were on hand too monitoring the demonstration, protestors called their presence disrespectful given the circumstances and urged the police to leave the scene.
“We ain’t here to riot, we’re here for justice,” said Charles Kimmons, Patrick’s uncle. “What happened is strictly uncalled for, and we need to fight this all the way to the end. These cops need to be locked up. But we’re going to have to fight.”
The protest did have other tense moments like when a driver almost hit a protestor that stood in front of its car, pushing him before speeding away from the scene.
While there is uncertainty surrounding the events that led up to Kimmons’ death, his family doesn’t believe an unarmed man getting shot 15 times as he ran away, should be justified in any way.
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Sources with PPB told the Oregonian/OregonLive that police fired multiple times at a man who turned toward them holding a gun.
Winston said she plans to pursue legal action and sue. An investigation is still underway. Also a grand jury intends to review the details of the case.