MADISON, Wis.– It’s a demand protesters have been voicing for nearly a year, and this time activists says police reform could have prevented another officer-involved death.
“I just can’t sit here and watch people die,” Ferguson Orr said.
The shooting of a 20-year-old Black man, Daunte Wright, during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota motivated Orr to speak up for justice here in Madison.
“I’m just tired of see all of these injustices toward people of color,” Orr said. “This whole situation with Daunte Wright has messed me up.”
Orr and a group of protesters are demanding reform to the entire law enforcement system, starting with police officer training.
A group is gathering on the steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison to protest for police reform following the death of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center. Their plan is to be out here for a couple of hours. #News3Now pic.twitter.com/d0xD9xke4o
— Gabriella Bachara (@GabbyBachara) April 17, 2021
“The whole situation where she was reaching for her taser and grabbed her gun, that just needs to be better training,” Orr said.
Orr said better training could have prevented what happened to Wright.
“It’s definitely going to show light that there needs to be change, especially a year after something like George Floyd,” Orr said.
While there have been many deaths at the hands of police since Floyd, another protester, Tatiyana, said it’s nothing new.
“It’s great that people are paying attention,” Tatiyana said.
Tatiyana said the officer who pulled the trigger on Wright should face charges more severe than manslaughter.
“It’s not a mistake, and if it is one, that’s only ok because he was a Black man,” Tatiyana said.
It doesn’t matter where you are in the country, Tatiyana said all people of color worry that what happened to Wright could happen to them, too.
“Living in fear constantly,” Tatiyana said. “That’s not life. We don’t live real life.”
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