Rev. Al Sharpton spoke Sunday at New Hope Baptist Church in Elizabeth, N.J., with over a dozen mothers in attendance that lost their children to police misconduct.
The mothers were led by Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner who organized the mothers with National Action Network (NAN) to lay flowers on Eric Garner’s grave site on the two year anniversary of his death.
Sharpton offered a moment of silence for the officers killed Sunday in Baton Rouge and spoke out against the killing
“Before we go to lay flowers on Eric’s grave I want us to stop a minute and pray. And I want us to pray for the families of those three policemen in Baton Rouge this morning,” he said. “At a time when the country needs healing this deplorable and merciless act of violence against officers of the law is wicked and we must fight the principalities of darkness and evil spirits that are turning to violence.”
Sharpton added that the mothers are fighting for justice and anyone that feels the spirit of revenge becomes a part of the problem not a part of the solution. This is not a battle against police. It is a battle against wrong.
“Anyone that shoots police hurts these mothers even more and undermine the cause of justice because this is not about violence against violence. This is about stopping the violence. We need more people that will stand up when cops are shot and we need more cops to stand up against bad cops when innocent lives are taken,” said Sharpton. “We have got to break this cycle of violence and sometimes you might have to deal with an uncomfortable reality and that may mean working with folks you don’t always agree with. We aren’t fighting police. We are fighting bad policing. We are fighting violence against each other. It is wicked to have some prosecuted and not others.”