Protesters march through San Francisco's Mission to denounce recent police shootings
SAN FRANCISCO - Protesters gathered in San Francisco’s Mission District on Thursday to show solidarity for two men shot and killed by police, Daunte Wright in Minnesota and Roger Allen in Daly City.
Demonstrators spoke out against police use of force and demanded justice in the recent deadly police shootings. Thursday’s protest is among those happening across the country.
It started as a vigil at Mission High School and ended with a march to the police station a few blocks away. The group "Defund SFPD Now" organized it.
Chanting the names of those who died at the hands of police officers, hundreds of people gathered at Mission High School in San Francisco. They were there for George Floyd, Daunte Wright and others, who can’t be there.
"I feel grief, I feel anger, I feel like this has happened one too many times," said protester Gabi Contreras-Cisneros.
"No amount of body came footage is going to bring back Daunte Wright’s life," said protester Aditi Joshi. "The question is now how do we abolish the police, how do we work together to dismantle the system."
There is growing outrage four days after the police shooting of Daunte Wright. A police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota said she mistook her gun for a taser killing the young father during a traffic stop.
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In the Bay Area, a family is grieving over the death of 44-year-old Roger Allen.
"This sign is for my brother, say his name, justice for my brother and his life mattered," said Talika Fletcher, Roger Allen’s sister.
Allen was killed last Wednesday in Daly City. He was sitting in a pickup truck. Police believed a gun was on his lap. The district attorney’s office said Allen pointed it at officers. He was shot twice and died. It turns out he had a replica gun not a real one
"He was a good man and he had not had to be taken out that kind of way," said Fletcher. "I never want my brother to known as a hashtag and now here I am having to fight for my brother’s life."
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Allen’s family is calling for justice. Others are questioning how justice can prevail in what they view as a racist system.
"Fundamentally, they’ve seen no changes to policing in the past years where they have killed countless people," said Joshi.
ProtestoEs said the men were not just killed by officers but the institution of policing and want to defund, disarm and disband the police. The calls for the system to change are growing louder.
"Emotionally, I think that we can't take this any longer," said Maria Cristina Gutierrez of Mothers on the March.
Azenith Smith is a reporter for KTVU. Email Azenith at azenith.smith@fox.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @AzenithKTVU or Facebook or ktvu.com.