Around 100 protesters gathered outside of the Hamilton County Courthouse on Thursday to protest the recent fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright by a Minnesota police officer.
The protest began at 6 p.m. and was organized by Cincinnati for Justice and the Anti-Police Brutality Coalition.
Organizers say the event was meant to speak out against police violence, stand in solidarity with Wright's family and bring attention to the names of people killed in altercations with police in order to have their cases reopened.
"It's just not fair, but we're going to keep this fight going," said Robin Scott, whose son, 26-year-old Melvin Murray Jr., was killed after a brief pursuit with police in 2015.
Some protesters stepped up to the microphone to read poetry, while others talked about their own encounters with police in Cincinnati and their frustration with incidents of police use of force captured in viral videos online.
Daryl Fischer, 58, told the crowd of protesters that he's tired of fighting and being looked at as a threat by police just because he's Black.
"We're all the same," he said. "How long must it go on?"
Tyler Freeman, a six-year Navy veteran, said he was forced to reflect on the treatment of Black men and women serving in the military after he saw the viral video of a military officer who was pepper-sprayed and forced to the ground during a traffic stop in December.
He said many Black men and women who have put their very lives on the line while serving this country come to realize to come back home to a nation that didn't care about them.
"If the police have the opportunity to kill me without a gun, then what difference does it make if I have one on me," Freeman said, with what appeared to be an assault-style rifle strapped to his back.
Wright was fatally shot by police officer Kim Potter during an April 11 traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
Potter, a 26-year police veteran, resigned on Tuesday and made her first court appearance via Zoom on Thursday. She is charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection to the shooting.
Since the shooting, hundreds of people have been protesting in front of the police department in Brooklyn Center.
There have also been protests in other cities across the country, including Columbus, Ohio.
On April 24, the Anti-Police Brutality Coalition is holding another protest to have cases reopened for families who've lost loved ones to use of force by police officers.
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