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A number of racial justice organizations joined forces on Thursday to hold a national day of action to demand accountability for the fatal arrest of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, forest defender Tortuguita and other victims who have died at the hands of law enforcement.
The National Day of Action Against Police Terror initiative is being spearheaded by activists from the #StopCopCity campaign, the Movement for Black Lives, Hip Hop Caucus and several other racial justice groups nationwide. Ralliers will gather today in Atlanta and several other cities across the U.S. to make their voices heard.
The protest will also honor the lives of Breonna Taylor and Tortuguita, the slain environmental activist who died in February
According to a press release, attendees in Atlanta will hold a march at 6 p.m. today at the King Center Amphitheater (449 Auburn Ave NE). Additionally, in-person and virtual events will be held in a variety of other cities, including Boston, Chicago, Detroit, D.C., NYC and Memphis.
The Day of Action is a part of the #StopCopCity campaign’s week-long initiative to protest building a police and firefighter training ground on hundreds of acres of an Atlanta forest. Opponents have dubbed the forthcoming facility “Cop City” as a result.
In February, Tortuguita, an environmental activist from the city, was shot at least a dozen times by authorities while protesting the construction of the facility with a group of activists, according to The Associated Press. Officials say Tortuguita, whose real name was Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, shot a state trooper as contractors and police were clearing activists from the forested site.
Authorities have yet to provide Terán’s family with answers.
The nationwide call to action comes just one day after the Department of Justice released new evidence connected to the police brutality death of Breonna Taylor in 2020. Officials from the department confirmed that the officers involved in the fatal no-knock warrant used excessive force and discriminatory stops during their violent search.
Justice still rages on for Tyre Nichols, the father of one, who was beatened to death by five Black police officers in Memphis in January.
On March 3, Robert Long, one of the three EMTs fired for failing to medically assess Tyre Nichols after he was viciously beaten, testified about what happened during the night of his fatal arrest.
In front of the Tennessee Emergency Medical Services, Long claimed that the Memphis police officers were “impeding patient care” after he and his colleague JaMichael Sandridge arrived at the scene. On the night of the fatal incident, Jan. 7, Long testified that Nichols showed normal vital signs, as he was still talking while he was propped up against the police car badly bruised. He said the late Fed-Ex worker did not want to receive treatment, noting how Nichols kept rolling away and moving around frantically whenever he and Sandridge attempted to take his vitals. Long admitted that the father of one did not verbally refuse treatment.
SEE ALSO:
Mississippi Cops Beat, Waterboarded Handcuffed Black Men, Shot 1 For ‘Dating White Women’: Lawyers
Why Was Tyre Nichols Really Pulled Over? New Report Casts Doubt On Reckless Driving Reason
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