The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
MARCH CALLS FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
Citizens, police officers protest brutal death of George Floyd in Minneapolis
Lorain community members marched in solidarity with police on May 31 in a peaceful protest in response to the death of George Floyd.
About 100 people gathered at the intersection of Oberlin Avenue and Meister Road, marching to Tower Boulevard and ending at Lighthouse Village Shopping Center.
Protesters carried signs and chanted “I can’t breathe,” and “black lives matter” in calling for justice for George Floyd and others.
Arriving at Lighthouse
Village, protesters symbolically laid on the ground for nine minutes, in recognition of the time he was held down by now former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, unable to breathe.
Floyd, a 46-year-old Minnesota man, died on May 26 after officer Derek Chauvin held him down while handcuffed with his knee on top of his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds despite pleading that he was unable to breathe.
Chauvin and three other officers on scene were fired one day later. Chauvin was arrested May 29. He faces charges of third-degree murder and second degree homicide.
"...I just wanted to get awareness out that this can’t happen anymore."
— March organizer Chayla Weaver of Lorain
Floyd’s death has sparked outrage across the nation with protests and riots overtaking several cities.
Organizer Chayla Weaver of Lorain said she felt like she needed to do something to bring together the entire community to show that Lorain is strong.
“Obviously as we all know George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minnesota and so for me personally this isn’t anything new,” Weaver said. “But something about this specific case just didn’t sit well with me. And we have to do something as a community here, and I just wanted to get awareness out that this can’t happen anymore. “
Speaking to protesters before the march, Weaver said she was overwhelmed by the community’s support.
“This makes me so proud to be from Lorain. We are strong; we are really strong and we’re going to stand up against injustices. We’re going to walk, we’re going to chant and we’re going to be peaceful and we’re going to do it and we’re going to show other cities that we can do it.”
Chaplain vouches for chief
In a powerful moment at Lighthouse Village, Lorain Police Lieutenant Daniel Reinhart, a departmental chaplain, committed to continue working with the community to continue building and improving relations with the people they serve.
“I want you to understand two things: Although it’s a brutality problem, it’s bigger than that; it’s a relationship problem,” Reinhart said. “So in light of that effective immediately, if you don’t know anything about Chief (Jim) McCann like we do, he’s a man of action: what he says, he means.”
McCann has implemented a police use of force advisory board headed by civilians who will review all police use of force.
Reinhart added police are going to make an effort to be more present in the community so their voices can be heard.
“It doesn’t end here if we can stand united like this.”
Some protestors continued into the early evening, peacefully marching down Broadway Avenue in the city’s downtown core.
Chief asks for peace
In a letter to the community released prior to the march, McCann condemned the actions of the four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s death and called on the community to protest peacefully.
McCann said the Lorain Police Department is standing with those who wish to peacefully protest against the “unnecessary, brutal, use of force against any citizen.”
As a career police officer, McCann wrote, he was personally grieved by the situation.
“Law enforcement should be an honorable profession where men and women protect their communities with integrity and compassion. I fear the actions of a few may taint the honorable service of the vast majority,” he wrote.
In recognizing the right of citizens to peacefully protest in demanding justice, the grief and anger many are experiencing cannot lead to more violence.
“It’s my hope that George Floyd’s death will draw us together as a community and serve as the catalyst for the Lorain Police Department and other police departments around the country to better serve the diverse communities of their cities,” McCann concluded.