Droves of activists rallied across Brooklyn for police-slain resident Akai Gurley Saturday, May 28.
Almost two years have passed since Gurley, an unarmed 25-year-old man was killed in a Brooklyn housing project stairwell by ex-officer Peter Liang. And Gurley’s relatives are still marching for justice.
In March of this year, community members were outraged when District Attorney Ken Thompson recommended no jail time, house arrest, five years of probation and 800 hours of community service for the convicted rookie cop.
Kerbie Joseph, a youth counselor at the Ali Forney Center, an organization that provides housing for LGBT youth, has worked with the Gurley family for 18-months and organized the demonstration.
“DA Ken Thompson completely lied to the family,” Joseph said. “He said, ‘I’m going to fight for you. I’m going to do everything I can for you.’ And then [he] does a press conference and says no jail time. It’s a disrespect and a betrayal. We have to expose that.”
Joseph started planning the event April, 19, when Justice Danny Chun of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn reduced the manslaughter charges against Liang to negligent homicide.
According to Joseph, Gurley’s girlfriend is still in “shock.” Joseph said that Melissa Butler has struggled to cope with the death and now just weighs approximately 99 pounds.
Hundreds of protesters chanted, “Come and look us in the eye! We want justice for Akai!” Bands of activists wore black T-shirts that read, “#ByeKen.” They lifted pickets signs with the face of Gurley
Before the protest stepped off in the streets, a protestor under the alias of Angry Pacifist, splattered red paint on Rikers Island uniforms that held the names of Danny Chun, Ken Thompson, Mayor Bill De Blasio, Peter Liang and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton.
“I see the revolution in a much larger sense of direct action and speaking directly to people,” said Angry Pacifist, who wore a mask and a gray NYPD T-shirt with red spray paint on the chest.
Because the DA did not follow through on his promise to push for the 5- to 15-year jail sentence, Joseph and other protesters demand that Thompson resign from office.
At 3 p.m. the group headed to Thompson’s brownstone home in Fort Green, Brooklyn. A steel barricade prevented protesters from going to the front of his house. Neighbors stared at the marchers from stoops and windows.
NYPD officers followed the group in at least four police vans. As protestors marched, the officers carried orange mesh crowd-control barriers. A few demonstrators got tangled in the mesh barriers and yelled, “We will not be detained!”
“You should be afraid of who is living next door,” said Gurley’s aunt, Hertencia Petersen, during the march.“They are acting like we are terrorists. We are marching for our civil rights.”
Three women were arrested during the protest.
Joseph said communities often forget about Gurley. Others, only remember the slain father as “the guy who got killed from East New York.” She hopes that the rally can make residents more aware of his story.