MINNEAPOLIS - A few hundred people marched through south Minneapolis on Thursday in honor of police shooting victim Justine Damond, but the friends, neighbors and community members in attendance said the march was also about seeking justice for all people impacted by police violence.
The Minnesota's Women's March organized the event, which began at the intersection of 51st St. and Washburn, where Damond was shot and killed by a Minneapolis Police officer last weekend.
Members of local clergy began with a prayer and then the group made it's way north for a rally at Lake Harriet.
Though some of Damond's friends and neighbors were in attendance, there were also many community groups there to show solidarity, including members of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities and the Minneapolis NAACP.
The crowd was made up of a diverse group of people, some who have been at previous rallies and others who came out for the first time. Speakers at the rally said they were all there to demand accountability and justice, not only for Damond, but also to address a more systemic problem. They listed several calls for action, including better training to address the problems that lead to violence and more comprehensive policies for body cameras, which were not activated for the shooting.
“It’s not their community or our community, it’s everybody’s community and we are all one community and we all have to fight for justice," said Jeannine Myrvik, who lives in south Minneapolis.
"I just believe that we really need to go deep with this and follow through with this and people need to be heard," said Julie Shannon. "And as a whole system things need to change because this isn’t okay.”