Relatives of high-profile police violence victims lead Boston march to defund cops

Tears flowed as family members of victims of police violence spoke at the State House, calling on Gov. Charlie Baker to defund cops amid his police reform bill push in one of the largest city protests since George Floyd demonstrations erupted a month ago.

Eric Garner Jr., son of the man killed in 2014 in Staten Island by a police officer’s chokehold, and Angelique Negroni-Kearse, whose late husband died of cardiac arrest while in a police cruiser in 2017, led hundreds of demonstrators from the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury to the State House steps Monday.

Monica Cannon-Grant, founder of the Violence in Boston organization, chided Baker’s bill which includes incentives for cops to pursue de-escalation training.

“Nobody should have to pay you to not be racist. That’s not an incentive, that should come as part of the job,” Cannon-Grant said. “It’s disrespectful, it’s a slap in the face to every black person in this city, to be paid for you to have cultural sensitivity, not be racist, and not kill us.”

Garner, 24, drove from New York City and expressed frustration after a man was held in a chokehold in Queens by a police officer Sunday despite the anti-chokehold law named for his father being passed last week.

“I’m just out here marching with the people,” a reserved Garner said.

Kearse, whose late husband’s name titles new legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, wept while urging the crowd to put the pressure on lawmakers.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3hRpNrc