Activists Hope Chauvin Verdict Leads To Reforms In Massachusetts
BOSTON (CBS) - The group Massachusetts Action Against Police Brutality rallied in front of the State House Wednesday, promising to use the momentum from the Derek Chauvin verdict to push for more justice. "One of the things we're demanding is to reopen past cases of police brutality," said organizer Brock Satter. "All across the country we feel these cases aren't being prosecuted."
In Fields Corner, relief falls over the neighborhood. "I could exhale, right, because we didn't have to expect the worst," said Rev. Eugene Rivers after the verdict was announced. But he says there's work to be done.
The fatal police shooting of a teenage girl in Ohio moments before the verdict hits other teens of color all the way in Boston. "There's still too many police that are killing innocent people of color and minorities and this is just a drop of water in a sea of hatred," said 16-year-old Miana Turner.
Rev. Rivers is planning a trip to Minneapolis next month to bring lessons learned back to Boston. "The city should be preparing for the summer, another COVID summer," he said. "I call on the mayor to convene the clergy and religious leaders of the city to avoid, or reduce the likelihood of something like that happening here."