By Gina Yarbrough
Escondido, CA–A coalition of North County activists are calling for changes to police departments procedures following the deaths of Tyre Nichols and Keenan Anderson who died in police custody in Memphis, Tennessee, and Los Angeles, California earlier this month.
The North County Equity and Justice Coalition led a rally Sunday afternoon in front of Escondido City Hall.
“We have a serious problem here in the United States, and the only way we can deal with that problem is policing, its legislation that holds officers accountable,” said Yusef Miller, a member of Racial Justice Coalition San Diego.
On January 7, Tyre Nichols was pulled over for a traffic stop by Memphis police. According to bodycam footage later released to the public, the five officers were seen chasing then beating the 29-year-old man on the ground. Nichols was transported to the hospital where he later died from his injuries. The five officers were fired from the department and were charged with killing Nichols.
On January 3, Keenan Anderson was visiting family in the Los Angeles area when he was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run following a traffic collision on Venice Blvd.
A Los Angeles police officer detained 31-year-old Anderson, a high school 10-grade English from Washington, D.C., for questioning. For unknown reasons, Anderson ran from officers onto traffic lanes. Several officers responded to the scene and restrained him on the ground. While holding Anderson on the ground an officer tasered him six times on his left shoulder. He suffered a cardiac arrest and died.
Anderson was a cousin of Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We must look for ways to dismantle a system that has never worked in this country, and build something,” said Mali Woods of Enicintas4Equality.
The group says officers involved in police brutality need to be held accountable for their actions. They also call for the immediate termination and prosecution of those officers.
