San Francisco

San Francisco Demonstrators Demand Justice After Police Shootings

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Demonstrators gathered in San Francisco Thursday calling for an end to police violence after three people were recently killed at the hands of police across the country -- one of them in Daly City.

The demonstration was originally organized to honor Roger Allen and Daunte Wright of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, but Thursday evening, they also learned about the death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo from chicago.”     

Following the group of about a couple hundred demonstrators was the sister of Allen, who is surviving through deep loss.

“That was my only brother,” said Talika Fletcher. “My mom passed away seven years ago; my mom passed away two years after my mom died. So now, it's just me.”

Allen was killed April 7 in Daly City, a vigil was held there Wednesday night after the San Mateo County District Attorney released new information on his case.

He was shot by a Daly City police officer while holding a fake gun as he was sitting inside a truck with a flat tire.

For Fletcher, it's surreal to be at a memorial and protest for her big brother -- the person who used to tickle her when she was a kid.  

“I never wanted my brother to be no hashtag,” she said. 

The demonstration in San Francisco was part memorial and part protest. Some brought flowers to lay before photos of Wright and Allen.

“My heart breaks every time this happens,” said San Francisco resident Jasmine Bost. “I'm a Black person, my whole family is Black. This is my family, this is my community and I wanted to come out and be with my community.”

The event is in solidarity with ongoing protests in Brooklyn Center, where Wright was killed this weekend.

The officer who pulled the trigger in that incident says she mistook her taser for her pistol. She's since resigned and has been arrested. Kim Potter had her first court hearing Thursday on second degree manslaughter charges.

Along with support and solidarity for the families of those killed, the group is also calling for radical change.

Organizers have moved on from chants about defunding the police, now they're calling for abolishing them and the entire justice system.

“As a person who does not believe in prison, I think there needs to be a reimagination of how we deal with these cases,” said protest organizer Gabi Contreras-Sisneros.

Most of the families of people killed by police have been calling for officers to face the same justice as everyone else.

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