Protesters Gather For Anti-Police Brutality Rally In Roxbury
ROXBURY (CBS) -- A rally to mark Juneteenth and a march against police brutality was held Saturday in Roxbury.
Juneteenth is a celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States, according to the event website.
Event organizer, Tahia Bell Sykes, says the goal is breaking down barriers.
"We're asking for humanity, transparency and clarity," she says. "Most important, (we're) letting the community know that we're here and that their voices are important and they have the ability to really make a change."
She says Friday's fatal shooting by Massachusetts State Police of Santos Laboy, who was allegedly wielding a knife on Storrow Drive, and the recent killing of terror suspect Usamaah Rahim in a CVS parking lot in Roslindale require not immediate condemnation but soul-searching and an open investigation.
The deaths of Eric Garner in New York and Freddie Gray in Baltimore, as well as the Boston shootings were discussed during the rally.
Bell told the crowd that investigations shouldn't end with an all-clear.
"(Police) want to be judge, jury and executioner on the streets in which we live," she said. "They are attempting to intimidate us...our community and they don't have the power to do that unless we give it to them."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karyn Regal reports:
