Thread by @FordFischer

Content warning for thread: Emotional discussions of violence and suicide.

Yesterday I filmed as families of victims of police and other state violence from 1997 to this year gathered in front of the Minnesota governor's mansion to tell their stories and demand justice.

I felt it was important to let every word be heard.

I will post some highlights on Twitter, but this includes uncut footage every family speaking.

Following each Twitter clip is a timecode for where to find the full speech in the YouTube video.

"When you only know the names that are in the media, it's almost like isolating the story," explained an organizer. "That makes the world believe that this is not as severe a problem as it really is."

"You have to say the names of the people that have been swept under the rug."

First was Amity Dimock, mother of Kobe Heisler, an autistic man shot dead by Brooklyn Center Police in 2019.

Kim Potter, who shot #DaunteWright two years later, was the commanding officer when Heisler was killed.

She told officers to turn off their bodycams.

You can see Amity Dimock's full comments beginning at 03:15 into the video.

Dimock says that if #KimPotter had been fired after her handling of her son's shooting, perhaps #DaunteWright would be alive today.

Del Shea Perry is the mother of Hardel Sherrell, a man who died in 2018 in Beltrami County Jail after officers accused him of "faking" a medical condition and refused to take him to the hospital.

"If Hardel don't get [justice], shut it down!" she said.

Del Shea Perry's full speech begins at 08:50 into the full video:

Kimberly Handy-Jones is the mother of Cordale Handy, who was shot dead by police in St. Paul in 2017.

She directly called out @amyklobuchar: "You lost your fucking mind."

She says @SenAmyKlobuchar was "full of shit" speaking at #DaunteWright's funeral.

Kimberly Handy-Jones specifically called out @SenAmyKlobuchar for saying "Black Lives Matter" despite prosecuting innocent Black man Myon Burrell who did 18 years in prison when his co-defendants said he wasn't there.

Her speech at 14:58 into the video:

Gabriel Black Elk is the brother of Paul Castaway, a man shot dead by Denver police in 2015 while holding knife to his own throat during a suicidal episode.

He says it "means a lot, means that someone cares" that people came out to hold this event for the families.

"Change needs to happen" said Gabriel Black Elk, whose speech begins at 41:52 into the full video:

Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson is the uncle of Oscar Grant, who was shot in the back by BART Police Officer at Fruitville Station in Oakland, CA.

The officer claimed he mistook his gun for his taser, and was sent to jail for about a year.

Johnson said it was because of the community's activism following the 2008 shooting that California got its first ever conviction of a police officer in a situation like this.

Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson's full speech begins at 51:36 in the full video:

Marilyn Hill is the mother of Demetrius Hill, who was shot six times by Saint Paul police during a raid on the wrong address in 1997.

A quarter century later, she is still advocating for action to be taken against the officers involved.

"Every officer that's involved in killing, we need to intimidate them like they intimidate us."

Marilyn Hill plans to hold a rally soon specifically for her son so she can continue to call out the officers a full 25 years later.

Tybetha Prosper is the mother of Naajikhan Powell.

She cried as she explained he died by suicide in Hennepin County Jail after being transfered from a psych unit at hospital that he self-checked into for suicidal thoughts and placed alone in a cell without suicide safeguards.

"We want mental health justice. We want police justice," said Tybetha Prosper.

"We got your back!" the crowd told her as she said she can barely stand thinking about what happened to her son.

Her full speech is at 01:02:54 in the video:

Taren Vang is the girlfriend of Travis Jordan who was shot dead by Minneapolis Police while suicidal.

"Having a mental health crisis is not a crime," she said. "I called 311, not 911."

Taren Vang is now studying in a pre-social work program. She says she's learning about techniques in crisis intervention.

When police arrived to Travis Jordan's suicidal episode, she says they didn't use those techniques before killing him.

01:11:56

Bayle Gelle is the father of Dolal Idd, who was shot dead by Minneapolis Police in 2020.

A Somali immigrant, he describes how he was raised never to cry.

He says his son was shot over "lies."

"All of these families long for their loved ones," said Bayle Gelle, Father of Dolal Idd. "We don't have justice in the United States."

His full speech begins at 01:15:58 in the video:

Lastly was Deborah Watts, cousin of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955.

"The past is not passed until justice prevails," she led the crowd in chanting.

She says Emmett has still not received justice.

The men who lynched Emmett Till were both acquitted and later confessed to the murder once they were legally immune.

Deborah Watts would like the last accomplice, Carolyn Bryant, to be charged.

Watts's full speech is at 01:26:17.

A note about the organizer (thank you @bymyelf for clarifying this):

This is Toshira Garraway Allen.

Her fiancé, Justin Teigen, was found dead in 2009 after an interaction with St. Paul Police.

His body was found in a recycling bin.

https://twitter.com/FordFischer/status/1386397271923695616

Police claim that Toshira Allen his in the recycling bin where he died, while his mother has stated that she believes the police beat him to death and attempted to hide his body there.

Police say video corroborates their side, but they never released it.

fox9.com/news/family-ca…