Tyre Nichols death: Hundreds march peacefully in the streets of Oakland
OAKLAND -- A few hundred protestors marched down Broadway in Downtown Oakland Sunday evening chanting 'No justice, No peace.'
They're fed up, hurt, and angry by yet another police killing.
"I'm tired of Black men getting killed by the police," said Oakland protestor Brian Johnson. " Whether they're Black cops or White cops, they're all blue to me."
Johnson said the fact that the officers arrested for killing Nichols are Black showed him police brutality is a systemic problem.
"They're not Black, they're blue, that's a fraternity, they're part of that brotherhood," said Johnson.
The protestors marched to the Oakland Police Department. Some said it's time to get rid of all police departments.
But San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said it's not fair to lump together SFPD with the Memphis Police Department.
"Get policies in place, hold people accountable to those policies, put good training in place, and create a culture where that type of behavior is unacceptable," Scott told KPIX. "And I think we have a culture in this organization where that type of behavior is unacceptable."
Reverend Amos Brown invited law enforcement, faith and community leaders to Third Baptist Church on Sunday to talk about preventing police brutality.
"It sets us back," said retired SFPD Captain Yulanda Williams.
She is the president of Officers for Justice, an organization that has been pushing for decades to hire more Black and brown officers to police their own communities.
"We actually witnessed in the year 2023 the polar opposite of what we had fought so hard for," Williams said. "So now it's a greater understanding for me, and I think others, that the color is not what makes the difference in the delivery of the police service. It is actually the contents of your heart, if you still are an ethical person."
Johnson said he cried when he saw the police beating video. And it's made him even more fearful of the police.
"All police are not bad, because when I need them, I call them," Johnson said.
The protest in downtown Oakland ended peacefully around 7:30 p.m. A few people spray painted graffiti during the march. Some protestors tried to stop those people. But overall, no major damage and no arrests.
