Richmond police Chief Chris Magnus and other police department brass stood shoulder to shoulder with other community members during a peaceful protest against police brutality in the East Bay city Tuesday.
The last-minute demonstration organized by the RYSE Youth Center drew more than 100 people, including city council members and police officials, along MacDonald Avenue near 41st Street today protesting deadly police force against unarmed “black and brown men,” said RYSE Executive Director Kimberly Aceves.
While other Bay Area cities have erupted into sometimes violent or disruptive protests following the recent grand jury decisions not to indict the police officers who killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and 43-year-old Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York, Tuesday’s demonstration was the first in Richmond and was free of any damage, traffic disruption or arrests, according to police and organizers.
Aceves said her organization decided to hold the protest to give community members a “space to grieve and have a conversation” about the recent events.
“For us, it was building on a national momentum,” she said.
The protest was also notable for the direct, non-confrontational involvement of police officers, including the city’s police chief, who stood for several hours alongside protesters holding signs and chanting, according to Aceves.
Richmond police Capt. Mark Gagan said police wanted to attend the demonstration not only to keep the peace, but also to show solidarity with the demonstrators.
“People have a real need to have their voices heard, and when that is stifled, it magnifies the problems,” said Gagan, who was among the officers who took part in Tuesday’s demonstration.
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