Activists are reporting over social media that at least a hundred people (I heard one activist being interviewed over the livestream explain there were 250 people) gathered for a vigil turned protest against the weekend police killing of 16-year-old Kimani Gray in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn tonight. Gray was shot 11 times by plaine clothes officers on Saturday night who claim they approached the teen because he was suspiciously adjusting his waistband. They say he pointed a gun at them forcing them to shoot.
Residents expressed their anger over Kimani’s death by marching to the 67th precinct, which serves as a liason between the police and the community, according to their Twitter profile, and were greeted by lines of police dressed in riot gear.
Things seem to have settled down for now, but it’s interesting to note how quickly this vigil came to be hash-tagged #BrooklynRiot. It’s also important to remember that Kimani Gray’s death at the hands of New York’s finest is just the latest in a long, long, long, long line of police killings of young people of color who are oftentimes unarmed.
But the most remarkable aspect of all is the absence of mainstream media coverage. The only outlets that have reported on the protest turned alleged riot are Russia Today and the Global Grind.
RT reports:
Riot police are reportedly on their way, as participants in the march are said to be throwing bottles and rocks at police cars and property.
Brooklynites on Twitter report that police are following the march and searching apartment buildings in the neighborhood without warrants, though this has not been confirmed.
March participants are chanting “NYPD KKK how many kids will you kill today,” people report from the scene.
Meanwhile, the Global Grind has spoken with police:
Police are estimating that about 70 people marched to the 67th Precinct station in East Flatbush to protest the shooting death of Kimani Gray.
Police say the crowd threw items at windows and rocks and bottles at the building before the situation was brought under control.
The group of protesters continued to march from Snyder Avenue and ended up at Church and East 57th Street, where they continued to demonstrate.
It didn’t appear the protesters were part of an organized group or event, and they appeared to be teenagers, according to witnesses and neighbors. There were no arrests.
When the media fails to report on a significant event like this, the police end up framing the narrative because relying solely on the twitter feeds of activists on the ground can be confusing and messy. As of now, the twitter feed of JumaaneWilliams is serving as a source of news. He tweeted that windows have been broken and at least one person attacked:
I'm in the middle of the riot action at Church and Snyder in my district. Right now, things are tense. Young people have expressed anger.
— Jumaane (@JumaaneWilliams) March 12, 2013
I'm here at the scene of the #Brooklynriot trying to defuse the tension of the youth with the @67ClergyCouncil. There's 60-100 here.
— Jumaane (@JumaaneWilliams) March 12, 2013
I'm on East 52nd & Church trying to disperse the crowd. I'm calling on @MikeBloomberg and #RayKelly to walk this community with me tomorrow.
— Jumaane (@JumaaneWilliams) March 12, 2013
Tonight was a peaceful vigil that devolved into a riot. The youth in this community have no outlets for their anger, no community center.
— Jumaane (@JumaaneWilliams) March 12, 2013
On Church Avenue, garbage has been turned over, windows have been busted. 1 person was attacked by Rite Aid. This community needs resources.
— Jumaane (@JumaaneWilliams) March 12, 2013
More details to come.
[…] Absence of Media Creates Confusion Over Protest Against Police … […]
How is this part of a loooooooong line of police killings of “unarmed” folks when this one was armed? In fact, most of the killings in this looooong line have been police getting shot//killed by armed criminals and police killing armed criminals. I’d love to see you walk by this “young child” of 16 with 4 priors and a very active blood. You’d get smacked in your tush and your boyfriend wouldn’t do a thing since he’d get pistol whipped.
I’m kidding of course…you’d never walk into flatbush, brownsville, east ny or canarsie b/c yuppies and hipsters LOOOVE “the underprivileged” but they tend to live as far away from them as possible in real life b/c living around them is just a whole different matter from writing articles supporting their “struggle”.
You fail to mention that the kid was actually at fault because he PULLED A GUN ON POLICE! How bout instead of rioting and claiming police brutality, the people of this neighborhood and your blog teach these young people A. not to carry illegal firearms, and B. not to point them at the police. Oh and also, when you do choose to riot, C. not to destroy your own f###ing neighborhood and it’s businesses.
Oh yeah and RT Russian media is a really reliable source with no propagandist interests at all. *sarcasm*
Nothing like reporting on central brooklyn from Northern VA, some of the wealthiest suburbs in the country by the way. I’m sure your college classes on sociology were completely unbiased.
This post is great. I realy love it!
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[…] by police. The shooting, however, was not the main story. Residents who participated in the vigil marched to the 67th precinct as a form of non-violent protest. Social mediaites present or following the story began to tweet […]