JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We’re hearing chants of “no justice, no peace” in Jacksonville. This comes just a couple days after video of Tyre Nichol’s beating by 5 Memphis police officers was released.
The Jacksonville Community Action Committee met with other protestors at the steps of the Duval County Courthouse Sunday afternoon.
Organizers and attendees say enough is enough.
“At a point where I am picking up the pieces and putting them back together I need to stop the vase from falling and we need to start doing things more on the front end than the back end in order to save some lives,” said John Phillips.
Phillips is an attorney and running for city council.
He represents a few of the people who attended the rally Sunday.
Ben Frazier, a client of Phillips, was previously arrested while protesting for what he calls justice.
Michael Sampson says he can’t watch another video like the recent footage of Nichols.
“We all saw that video and we all saw George Floyd get killed and we all saw so many videos of innocent people being murdered yet we haven’t seen the reform, change and policy to actually fix that,” said Sampson.
Citizens at the rally were not just protesting. They say they want to see changes in police accountability locally.
Their demands include a community review board.
“Just Tyre’s case alone shook me to my bones hearing him call out for his mom and I’ve been standing here working with JCAC for quite some time,” said Alexis Gaines.
You can watch the full video here. Viewer discretion is advised.