Bayle Gelle, the father of Dolal Idd, marches out of the Minnesota State Capitol to demand justice for those killed by police. (Elijah Todd-Walden/BLCK Press)
Families rally at capitol for those lost to police violence into the state capitol Friday afternoon to demand justice for all lives taken by police.
The protest comes 40 days after Yia Xiong was shot and killed by St. Paul police after a brief confrontation during which he refused to put down a knife. Xiong did not speak English.
“We could have done more,” State Senator Foung Hawj said. “I will stand by, I will listen and I will advocate for you here at the state capitol. My heart is heavy, I’m angry, I’m mad, but I am focused. Focused to fight for justice for all these families.”
The chants of “no justice, no peace” reverberated through the halls of the capitol, something Communities United Against Police Brutality President Michelle Gross noted.
“They are in the chambers, and they can hear when we make a lot of noise. It’s a beautiful old building with pretty crummy acoustics, which is great for us.”
Gross outlined eight bills that are going through the Minnesota Legislature, including one that requires Minnesota police officers to carry their own professional liability insurance.
“If we had professional liability insurance, Derek Chauvin would have never gotten to the point to kill George Floyd,” Gross said.
The families of Daunte Wright, Kobe Domick-Hiesler, Chiasher Vue, Yia Xiong, Amir Locke, and several others spoke about how the loss of their family members has taken a toll on them.
“[I’m] 50 years old, and this is literally the worst thing I’ve been through in my life” Kobe Heisler’s mother Amity Domick said. The commanding officer at the scene of her son’s death, Kim Potter, was also the officer responsible for the death of Daunte Wright.
Domick serves as the chair for Brooklyn Center’s Expanded Response council, which provides recommendations for how to improve Brooklyn Center’s public safety responses, and is making their first recommendations to Brooklyn Center city council Monday.
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