Marchers Urge Change After Boulder Police Confrontation With Black Man
BOULDER, Colo. (AP/CBS4) - Protesters have called on the police department in Boulder to make sweeping changes after officers confronted a black man who was picking up trash in his yard. Hundreds of people marched Sunday to the Boulder Police Department, passing near the site where an officer detained 26-year-old Zayd Atkinson on March 1.
The Daily Camera reports the Naropa University student, who attended the march, says the officer had called for backup when he continued working in the yard.
He says he believed he was going to be shot when an officer drew his gun.
March organizer Nami Thompson and others called for the creation of a civilian oversight board to help prevent and mitigate conflicts with police.
"We're here for reasons that should be unacceptable," one protester told CBS4.
Boulder police are conducting an internal investigation into the confrontation.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)