MINNEAPOLIS - Protesters gathered outside the Fourth Precinct in Minneapolis on Sunday, in response to the police shooting of an African American man on Saturday night.
The activist group Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar had already planned a protest at 5th and Hennepin along the Twin Cities Pride Parade route to speak out against police violence.
But after the north Minneapolis shooting Saturday evening, the demonstration took on a more immediate purpose. About 200 protesters, including activist and lawyer Nekima Levy-Pounds, gathered at the Fourth Precinct at 3 p.m. to call for justice for Thurman Blevins, who was identified by family and community members as the man killed by police on Saturday.
Minneapolis Police, the BCA, and one eyewitness say Blevins was armed, but other neighbors in the community dispute that he had a gun.
"Even if he did have a gun, why is this man dead?" said activist Roxanne O'Brien at the protest. "Why are there white people who get a chance to shoot up churches and terrorize mosques and call everybody but themselves terrorists, while they walk in safe as hell to these precincts?"
Blevins' father, Thurman Moore, stopped at the protest to speak to demonstrators and the media. His brother and Blevins' uncle, Manuel Moore, was there was well. He told the crowd that Thurman Moore also lost a daughter last week to liver and kidney damage.
"A father shouldn't have to bury two kids in two weeks," he said. "This is too much tragedy. That's too much tragedy for one man to bear."
Police have said that there is body camera footage of the shooting. Manuel Moore said the family will review the videos tomorrow.
"We want him to get some type of justice," Manuel Moore said. "We just want to know the truth. Nobody should get shot down like a dog."
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo eventually came out to face the crowd of protesters and listen as they demanded the names of the officers involved and the body camera footage. Protest leaders also said they do not trust the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate the shooting.
Police Union Head Bob Kroll says two officers responded to 911 calls from frightened people who reported Blevins firing a gun into the air and the ground.
"When the evidence is in, it's going to show that these officers do just what they're hired to do," Kroll said. "It's our belief that body camera will reveal what happened. That the officers were subjected to a threat. ... There were numerous commands to drop the firearm. The subject did not comply with these commands."
Kroll said the officers are cooperating with the investigation and will give statements to the BCA on Monday or Tuesday. The officers will be allowed to view their body camera video first, per MPD policy.
The Pride Parade start on Sunday was delayed about 45 minutes Sunday morning as protesters moved down the route.
Along the parade route, protesters were met with a mixed response - with some in support and others shouting for them to "go home," according to KARE 11 reporter Sharon Yoo, who is following the protest at the parade.
A vigil was also held at 7:30 p.m. at 48th and Camden in north Minneapolis.
The NAACP MPLS released the following statement:
"Today, June 23 Thurman Blevins, an African American man, was shot and killed by Minneapolis Police Officers in North Minneapolis. Eye witnesses stated he was killed while running away from the officers. The witnesses say that he was sitting on the curb with his girlfriend and baby. The cup that he was drinking can still be seen at the scene.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions. We are asking for full transparency and that the footage from the body cameras be released.
We are praying for the family and community members."