Viral video of slain homeless man sparks protests in downtown L.A.
In response, protesters shouted “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!” and “Black Lives Matter” in the second protest for the Skid Row shooting. Protesters staged a “die-in” outside the police station in memory of Mike Brown, while others played horns, drums, and cowbells. Signs read “Jail Killer Cops,” “Justice For Brother Africa,” and “End the Police State,” capturing the “us vs. them” mentality surrounding police-involved shootings.
As all this happened, police blocked front and rear entry into the building to keep the crowd under control. They gave no comment on the protest.
After a performance of "Power: From The Mouths Of The Occupied" on Sunday, a performance piece discussing police brutality, news broke of the tragedy that is the killing of "Africa."
Patrisse Cullors, who was behind the performance piece and has also spearheaded #BlackLivesMatter, assembled a group to go down and protest the LAPD's actions involving the killing of "Africa."
The incident has sparked outrage. While the video of the shooting has gone viral, people have taken their discontent to social media and to the streets.
For some, police-involved shootings are cause to keep up one’s guard. “If you’re black and homeless, now you have to worry about being killed,” said Mecca, a protester who refused to give her last name. “They were very upset,” according to Corsair photographer Veronica Aviles, “and there to make a stand.”
Protesters of many different backgrounds made known their discontent with police practices during arrests. Africa’s death comes at a time when communities still see the handling of the cases of Ezell Ford, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, and countless other Black men who died in officer-involved shootings, as injustice. While body cameras were used in the incident, their footage has not been released because of the ongoing investigation.