Raleigh protest organizers outline demands

Raleigh Demands Justice, one of the organizers of recent local protests, outlines demands for change to in police conduct, accountability and racism.
Posted 6/5/2020, 8:01:00 PM Updated 6/5/2020, 10:36:50 PM

thank you is a coalition

Our hearts our prayers and thoughts go out to George

Flies family and loved ones and friends who are going

through a grieving process

Loss of George Floyd who was brutally and barbarically killed

by four police officers in the police department

My name is Faizal Khan founder of Carolina Peace Center

I want to talk about George Floyd Mr George Floyd

because there's been a lot of talk about how you

was killed

But I want to talk about who he was as

individuals

The family called him by his middle name Perry

Mr

Floyd moved to Minneapolis three years ago to be closer

to his on Harrelson to build a new life to

start a new life

He was a father of three Children

Mr

Flight was 46 years old

He wanted to escape the low income Houston neighborhood where

he grew up and come to Minneapolis and have a

fresh start a new life

Miss Harrelson

Mr Floyd On set they live in a tough environment

So he said he was coming to make a fresh

start and she was very happy

He took a job as a bouncer as a retail

clerk was a hard working man

Dedicated man

I was interested starting a new chapter in his life

Angela Harrelson

The Count Will grew up in a shack surrounded by

piney woods and tobacco fields in eastern part of North

Carolina was thought by her sharecroppers parents how to get

along in a slowly degrading America

He started getting America

He said that sitting at the back of the bus

do what life will tell you

Stay strong and hold on she was told by my

parents

That's what she did when she boarded and local bus

in the 19 seventies in eastern part of North Carolina

and white students blocked the cease with their feet making

a stand in the aisle

The bus driver also white what's severe and threatened flat

black students if they felt some days he wouldn't even

pick her up from a rest stop

What we witnessed in Minneapolis is a continuous process of

dehumanization black communities and brown communities in this country

This is not an isolated incident

We've been witnessing this for over 400 years a systematic

and institutionalised process while keeping the black Cos marginalized and

underprivileged

We as a nation needs to start talking about history

not just police brutality but also very inequities in education

and employment dealing short across America

We're deeply disappointed and saddened to see that the rally

Police Department chief Brown did not mention the tragedy off

George Floyd or the surrounding circumstances

We were expecting her to be bold and strong social

solidarity Mr Floyd's family and loved ones what's taking place

in Minneapolis across the country and reach out for black

around committees by showing some sense of humanity to us

Disappointed to say that she came short of doing that

We're here to continue demand our demand list

They are non negotiable way intent

We have intentions to make sure that those demands are

met until that we will continue

Will continue will continue to fight for justice

Thank you Good evening

My name is career Web

And today as Faisel said we are thinking about the

George Floyd family

Our hearts and our minds are with them and we

want to do everything in our power as our demands

layout to prevent a tragic and equitable inhumane that like

George Floyd's from happening here in the capital city of

North Carolina last night

We were amazed by the community some of whom just

a little bit are behind us

We were amazed at the turnout

We were amazed that they spoke up

We were amazed and we were so happy that they

reiterated our demands

Communities demands

This is what Raleigh is probably standing is standing together

way are united wear demanding these things from our city

council wear demanding these things from our chief of police

As you may be well aware

Today the Minneapolis City Council passed the policy mandating that

police officers intervene went over

Use of force is committed against the suspect or detainee

Our message today is it's just that easy Do that

here today Raleigh can be sponsored by our police department

and pass a policy like that that is on our

demand

Lis also on our demand list is that we invest

more in the community that we take away police stations

from black and brown communities and divert funding into community

health initiatives

These are no longer requests

Community members have come to city council and spoken for

years and years and years

These air now demands we stand united as you as

older folks in our community white black Latin X Asian

American native wear standing here united together to demand these

things

And we will not stop until we get justice

Not only for George Flory but for everyone in Raleigh

that wants a fair chance to live and go about

our day to day activities and live who complete lives

Thank you

My name is Sarita Johnson

I am first a black woman who lives here in

a city of a mother

I'm an advocate for orchid little nonprofit and also represent

Wiley

This took place in Minnesota is something that we see

all too often here in Raleigh has never addressed what

we want to see happen

And what Pack has been working for for the past

four years 2015 and after the death of Akio because

we really became active in the community about police accountability

is for the City Council members to stand up and

do something about it in equity and what's happening in

our community

It was happening to those black and brown people

Rally Pack has been active for an oversight board with

subpoena power investigatory power and discipline power for over four

years we haven't got any feedback from City Council

About something in Busan is inevitable board that has been

introduced to City of Raleigh

Now it does not address issues with policing

It only does address policy issues

Therefore when an incident like George Floored comes up and

is presented we cannot discuss those topics and don't own

that board

Has that Borgen assert for police accountability cannot address issues

with policing

So what we're acting for the City of Raleigh do

the mayor and the police chief and those members that

we elected into office on City Council is to step

up and be vocal about what needs to happen in

Raleigh Way haven't get lip service and planning and meetings

for the last four years

This is not a new issue that's been introduced to

Riley

This is something has been going on for years that

we've been discussing with Raleigh Pack for years and a

fact that the mayor and the chief came up and

spoke today like this is the new issue

This is a new topic is very disrespectful to the

work that we've been doing for the past four years

City Council had a meeting last night

They had over 96% of the people that spoke said

they went overview war with subpoena power investigatory discipline powerful

officers one name that today at their press conference they

mentioned nothing about them

So the work that we've been doing a rally packets

getting out in the community there speaking on it they're

disgusted with RPG in their actions of rubber bullets and

tear gassing

A two year old travels tear gas this weekend by

the rally police offices

So now the embarrassment that RPG has to face they're

gonna give us lip service

We're not taking lip service anymore

We're not accepting their words and their meetings and their

planning's

We've been planning this for four years

Way gave them a layout of what we want it

For four years people have spoken now for four years

and advocated for this change

So what we want to for the public to know

this is not new

This is not something that the Chief isn't aware of

She has not been president any of our meetings

She has not been present whenever someone is shot and

killed even in her own neighborhood

So where was shot and killed by police officer

She has not stood up at all

She does not represent what she says she represents for

hard comment

To say that all lives matter was disrespectful and disregard

what black and brown people have been going through for

over 400 years in this country

As an example off how she knows accountability should happen

She has that prove that with pen and paper it

says and write a policy that an accident hold officers

accountable

Thank you

My name is Carl with people

I'm the executive director rips

And as we stand before you today citizens of Raleigh

Rollie Demand Justice Coalition

As people want to see a change we will no

longer continue to take the empty broken promises in our

city

And the police are giving us way at a time

in history we have the opportunity so right roams off

the past

But yet you see a mayor and police chief you

want to speak about property over people this type of

action this type of lip service will not be tolerated

no more way

Do not hold these individuals accountable for their actions

Brutalization of citizens from police will continue on for years

and years and years to call the war in which

they are proposing to implement

It's nothing more than a board that reviews policies it

has no power to hear

The citizen's complaints has no about no problem to review

complaints against officers

It has no subpoena power

It has nothing what they are proposing for board

You could do from your home on your phone

No longer will we sit idly by while they sit

in their homes in the office and do nothing about

oppression the brutality that's being played in our city a

Rolly let alone the country

We have an opportunity right now to get it right

being a model example for the country

What a steak

But what do they come out and talk about Pure

fluffing air their property I'm a poll

I am ashamed

I am disappointed

So to the mail robber May and bone for police

Cassandra Deck Brown

If there is no justice there will be no peace

My name is Rolanda Byrd

I'm executive director Rally

Also remember this coalition

Roddick demands justice and I'm here today as Archeo Dinkins

his mother George floors then and I'm calling out for

his mother

Brought something over me that I didn't know it was

left in me

Probably City Council and chief of police know all too

well what has happened here in Raleigh North Carolina before

Joyce Floyd left his left

His world

This isn't something that just started here

This is something that we're trying to get our community

to understand that mothers like me shouldn't be the only

ones out here fighting for justice for our families

And finally they are understanding

We had 8000 people out here on Saturday

They heard my story

They continue to come back

This is what is going into

So it's not just me standing along anymore

We're together

We're in this together this fight for justice

And I'm here speaking on behalf of all the other

mothers who lost their Children Sovaldi Police Department all the

other family members that can't stand the way I stand

and represent our families that are hurting because they took

our Children away from us

This is in me is in me because of you

It will not go away until I get some type

of justice

So we get justice

So what The families get justice to the community gets

justice It won't go away

We're gonna fight

We're gonna march

We're gonna We're gonna run up and down the streets

were gonna come around

Whatever you wanna call it wrong

We're gonna do what I feel is right

Until something changes

I tried this other side of being politically correct to

sit down with you guys

I tried

You know what I've done

But now you pushed us to action

And that's what we have left in this

And it's going to be more strongly than you ever

seen before

That's right

So if our demands are not met we will continue

our actions

Thank you

My name is Dana Baloch from Yeah young Americans protest

this past weekend rally Police Department violated international human rights

law by tearing bye bye throwing tear gas shooting rubber

bullets and using flash grenades on the people of Raleigh

and on on Children

Raleigh Police Department used a weapon banned in war on

our Children this weekend

I was at the march where thousands of people peacefully

powerfully in passionately smart and stood up for what's right

because there's no question about George Floyd's murder

George there's no question about it

George Floyd was a murder in the world watched the

humanity of our police force

If we allow this type of behavior what does this

say about us as a society What I saw this

past weekend from the Rally Police Department and the lack

of accountability the police chief has not taken is utterly

disgraceful

I witnessed a There was a 15 year old girl

who lost her four front teeth

Why a tear gas can thrown by police

There were Children in the crowd when Raleigh Police Department

through a tear through tear gas the crowd for literally

just standing there

I was tear gassed five times for doing nothing

It was a war zone

People did not write that night

The police did

Why We cannot accept

We're not accepting

If we do we should all bow our heads in

Shame way

Keep saying the city can do better than do better

saying the city is better than this but we're not

doing better

I I call on the tea that if we accept

that it's okay to tear gas Children we cannot call

ourselves just people from Raleigh

Anyone that's just not who we are

And these actions should be investigated immediately and these officers

should be charged leaders

The leaders of this city will be held accountable that

they allowed people to be tear gas that they allowed

Children to be tear gas

And they allow the elderly to be here

Yes and they will be held accountable for that

So Cassandra Marianne Roof in Hall Nicole Sage Jonathan David

David Patrick I As someone who knows you personally I

am questioning your morality right now and I urge you

that you you act with urgency on meeting the demands

of the people

Thank you

Hello

My name is Attorney Don Blake grow

I am the executive director of Emancipating See And what

I want to talk about is one very important actor

who we haven't addressed up until this point but who

we will be talking a whole lot about from this

point for Mary Baldwin told us today that the small

businesses were the heart of rock not the people the

small businesses

And if the small businesses are the heart of rally

in the district attorney is the heart of the criminal

justice system

I stand here before you to say and call out

unequivocably Lauren Freeman who is the district attorney of White

County and every district attorney across the state of North

Carolina who fails to hold police accountable who failed to

bring criminal charges when law enforcement become Wallace the only

agency within our criminal justice system not just here but

all over the country who can hold law enforcement accountable

Who can bring charges against law enforcement Is the district

attorney

The district attorney's in this country in this state have

been derelict in their duty to police the police

We call on you the people of rally the whole

George District attorney Lauren Freeman accountable for why she is

not pressing charges against people who have committed international war

crimes

Why she is not pressing charges against law enforcement officers

who tear gas Children

And let me be clear I'm not speaking about all

district attorneys because I will tell you this

Tana de Berry and Durham her 14 year old daughter

was in that crowd with us on Saturday and she

was tear gas

Her mother is the epitome of what we want to

see in all district attorneys

We have an example here in North Carolina of what

it should look like

Lauren Freeman however is not it

But she could be way Call on her right now

to use the power that she has been given by

the people of Weight County toehold every lawless person responsible

for their actions that includes law enforcement and Lauren Freeman

And every day in this city and excuse me in

this state and in this country do not have the

wheel to hold law enforcement accountable

Then you we the people should give them another job

If they don't want to do the job that we

elected them to do we should find somebody who wants

to do that job

So I say to you right now while we call

on the resignation of Mary Baldwin the firing of cheap

that ground I stand here before you would say on

that list should be Lord free

If Lord Freeman has no intention about holding the power

and the responsibility of her office and charging law enforcement

officers when they become long list then she should remove

herself from the position and make way for someone with

the will and the moral compass to do the job

Thank you

Well when you say

next steps are very simple

It we and all of us are wearing T shirts

right now and we will be distributing T shirts everybody

that we can over the next 24 hours

The steps are simple

We've laid them out

Remove deck brown give us oversight power and nervous investigatory

and subpoena power for oversight boards not just in rally

but all over the state changed policies within the police

department that holds law enforcement officers responsible when they or

their fellow officers engaged in activity

That is an abuse of the trust in the power

that the people of Raleigh and whoever they wherever they

exist have given

We want to see

We want to see law enforcement in rally be funded

What does that mean David Cox made a post on

Facebook a couple of days ago saying that if we

defund law enforcement then we end up with crafting because

we can't pay them or we pay them

We do what we're doing right now

I offered to him

1/3 alternative is that we get rid of all the

bad cops the unqualified cop the law enforcement officers that

we don't need reduced the budget before the rise of

Police Department and reinvesting the people of rally

And what you end up with is a lean law

enforcement agency that is responsive to the community

That is part of the committee community that understands the

community and that it works

And we make sure that everybody that we invest in

the people of Raleigh so we don't need $1.5 million

for one city police department

And we also want to see folks bring invest in

the people of rally reinvesting healthcare reinvest in school social

workers take SA rose out of our schools and give

us nurses

That's what we want

And if your demands aren't men what do you plan

If our demands aren't met We do what we beg

what rather pact has been doing for the last four

years

But here's what's different

The entire world is watching right men

We have all of these people for whatever reason who

didn't realize the importance of this issue

Now see it

The people who have always been with us have the

courage and the strength right now in this moment to

stand with us to be visual to be vocal that

is what will happen

What will happen is that we will keep pushing

What will happen is that we will place them

What will happen is that we will not let a

day go by what we do not demand the resignation

of any elected official or appointed official who does not

take their job or their duties to the community

Serious You said this this

years here this is the most visible and fly well

he was out there

Question

I shoot

It is my fun

What's called for her resignation for inaction for her not

holding office is accountable

She now tries to me community relations and going out

and giving individuals 15 more minutes before they want to

be hurtle into their houses before they're all arrested

It's not a first step in minute community relations

Way have requested numerous meetings with Cassandra Deck Brown

She's responded to no way point

It is no what's open

She must go

Leadership starts from the top from their actions

You obviously see what happened no more

She will not promise us lip service

She will not give small gestures talking to try to

mean anything that we know is not sincere

So I ask you to ask yourself She's been a

police chief for what 13 years How many times have

you seen in the streets How many times have using

our whole officer's account She says She's about discipline and

about doing right but we know for effect

There have been numerous times Iraqi police officers was in

the role

How many times have you heard her say How many

times have you or speak out against How many times

have you seen her fire Any of the bad What

it once it's full and she is at the top

of the list

She must go

First time I saw Dick around in the street and

they the first time I saw Dick Brown in the

street in the hood

It was when I did this killed

She stood in the middle of the street

That day I was with me explaining first of all

not even let me a dead body

I never knew it was my son that was killed

till three three days later Okay then when they wouldn't

let me update for his body

She and as Mr Ms Bowman said today tried to

show compassion on that day on that morning that mid

evening she tried to show compassion

I thought she had compassion

I felt that she will be the Black Sea for

police that would assist me and my family and some

of these justice that we were looking for

I was sadly mistaken sadly mistaking the next time that

um miss Miss Deck Brown show her face was when

I left her residence the night that the young man

was shot near the seats on his plane in her

backyard which it was once one of the reasons why

we decided to go to our house that night

We asked her to come outside and address her community

Does she go So no they quietly escorted her out

of her house

So she have addressed community

Another way of hiding from the truth off what's going

on in her community by her black and brown

The next time I saw a big round in a

news press release this morning

after everybody on that City Council called last my ass

were to step down

So yes she only shows his face

What's up is I'm trying to use the right words

Him

I'm trying to be nice when she knows that something

is at risk in her life

And that's all

I have

my name this Bryant E Riddick set

If it does you don't know

I was one of those that actually spoke with the

police that night face to face one of the main

things

Trying to ask who gave the order from that Saturday

evening to gases

Who gave the order who approved before and she deliberately

did not respond to that question

I'm a hearing all across social media

Not all cops are bad

I will tell you did

You're going to say that then that proves that you

recognize that you do have bad apples in your group

into a precinct

But you stand by and do not correct that we

should treat it like leprosy

Because what did he do in the days old There's

one lepers in the town

They drove them out outside the gates

I did not allow them to return today have changed

a cure racism in this country is we were not

tolerated any longer

You'll be a cool called Dave Hill

I will stand by and let another my brothers and

sisters die in the hands of Does who swore who

swore to protect us

He can't breathe

He can't breathe

Can't free

She can't read

We all can't read

before 100 years you are have a knee on our

necks people being we've been paying you let cute incinerated

incarcerated corn on the art of my mother's never to

be seen again

Father is taking out of middle of the night only

to be found the next day hanging on a post

in the middle of town

He must have accountability

My name is Conrad James

I'm executive director of Living Ultraviolet

I'm send here in coalition with my brothers beside me

on today's writing

On Wednesday I actually went up to the headquarters by

myself before protests and talk to misstep ground about the

atrocious activities has happened across the country and she uh

blockaded the entrance so we wouldn't be able to process

there even though it is a public

Over the past three days she has also done that

every single day now we're not able to go to

the headquarters and hold her accountable for the actions that

she has taken

That happened today

We went their way went there with about 50 people

still signing the same letters and advance trying to give

it to her

And when we get there there's nine cop cars 12

cops one sergeant one captain and one deputy

But she is nowhere to be found

So when is she gonna start standing up for the

main main question And she likes to play dirty

I was unfortunately arrested this morning

Um I would like to say well played because certain

things weren't able to get done today

But they will be done on Monday and we're gonna

keep knocking after doors just like the walls of Jericho

They kept going around in circles around circles around circles

City is going to crumble and it's just who is

going to take the blame on who's going

Take the consequence

At this point it's ceiling as the City Council mayor

city attorney city manager and the chief

Please are all held accountable for their actions and we

will find this punitively and demanded in your life

Ah I got a message

I got a message for that ground for all the

police officers all the leaders of all across the state

We're not going anywhere anymore

Growing getting resilient

And there's any question left that this was gonna die

You should see what's been going on for the last

nine days

We're not going anywhere is gonna grow

It's gonna continue girl until our demands are met

Until we have leadership

I think we all realize now that mistake Brown is

not qualified to be a chief of the police department

She must show leadership by stepping away along new leadership

to take it

We have too many people have been suffering mothers and

fathers and daughters and everybody else black and brown communities

And I ask others who are still silent complacent to

get out of their shells

Because one day you're gonna be affected by that

I can guarantee you so our demands must be met

Their non way shall not surrender to silence

We will continue to speak up continue to advocate on

behalf of the marginalized Black Brothers Sisters in this state

and all across the country way demands justice

You can find out More information about us at Raleigh

demands justice dot com and people will be giving individual

interviews if you would like thank you