Merced protest calls attention to black men killed by police
About 50 demonstrators marched down Main Street and gathered in Bob Hart Square on Saturday to draw attention to the killings of people of color by police.
The marchers held signs that said “Black Lives Matter” and chanted “I can’t breathe,” a saying that has become a rallying cry since Eric Garner, a black man, died on July 17 after he was put in an apparent choke hold by New York police Officer Daniel Pantaleo.
Carli Bardier, UC Merced’s Black Student Union president, said the marchers wanted to recognize those they believe were victims of police brutality. “We’re just trying to just get the word around that police brutality is a major problem here, in the United States,” the 20-year-old said. “It needs to stop.”
Bardier said students in her club agree that the relationship is strained between students of color and police officers. “In general, when they come around, we don’t feel safe,” she said. “We don’t feel like (they’re on) our side.”
Many of the marchers wore posters around their necks with photos primarily of black men who have been killed by police under scrutinized circumstances.
The most recent examples were of Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Brown, a black teenager, was killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. In both of those cases, a grand jury decided that the officers should not stand trial.
Susan Bouscaren, who organized the demonstration, said the officers should have at least been ordered to stand trial. “I would love to see some type of trial,” the 58-year-old said.
Similar protests were held around the country, in places like Berkeley, New York and Washington, D.C. “It’s time that the killing of black Americans in this country stops,” Bouscaren said. “It’s happened countless times, and this is just too much.”
The demonstrators made their way to Bob Hart Square, where they chanted, sang, held a moment of silence and listened to speakers. They also lay on the ground and traced each other in chalk as a representation of people of color killed by officers.
Sun-Star staff writer Thaddeus Miller can be reached at (209) 385-2453 or tmiller@mercedsunstar.com.
This story was originally published December 13, 2014 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Merced protest calls attention to black men killed by police."