Local rally:
Crowd meets at site of April fatality
Milwaukee marchers seek justice in
Missouri case.
Gathering at the same park where a 31-year-old man was fatally shot by a Milwaukee police officer, more than 120 people rallied Sunday at Red Arrow Park to demand justice for Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo.
The crowd chanted “No justice, no peace” and “Hands up, don’t shoot,” which has become an anthem in Ferguson after witnesses said Brown had his hands up when the officer shot him.
The rally in Milwaukee included the father of Corey Stingley, a West Allis teenager who died after he was held down by three customers at a convenience store, and family members of Dontre Hamilton, who was shot 15 times on April 30 after a confrontation with a police officer in Red Arrow Park.
No charges were issues against the men who held down Stingley. The Milwaukee County district attorney’s office is reviewing Hamilton’s death to determine whether the officer who shot him will be charged.
“We need a fundamental change to the system,” said Craig Stingley, Corey’s father, describing the deaths of his son and Brown as hate crimes.
Those at the rally also invoked the names of James Perry and Derek Williams, who both died in Milwaukee police custody, along with Darius Simmons, a black teenager who was shot and killed by his 76-year-old white neighbor.
Carrying a “Solidarity with Ferguson” banner, the crowd marched down W. State St. to the Milwaukee Police Administration Building. Several motorcycle officers with Milwaukee police blocked off intersections to traffic for the protesters.
“Our practice is to give the demonstrators as much room to exert their rights as possible and to not be a source of conflict nor an opportunity for confrontation,” Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn said Sunday. “So you see traffic control cops. That’s all we’re doing.”
Speaking to the media after the rally near police headquarters, Flynn said he believed the police at the rally showed “willingness to suspend judgment when things go awry.”
Flynn said he was not concerned about future rallies, such as one scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday at Red Arrow Park, escalating into violence.
“I think most people in (the rallies) are sincere, and our job is to continue to create an environment in which they peacefully assemble and express their concerns,” he said.
Flynn called the protests in Ferguson “disturbing” but declined to comment on the shooting death of Brown, citing continuing investigations.