Speeches, tears, dramas, slogans and a unifying word among all: justice.
At the call of the collective of "families supporting families against police violence", about 200 people gathered Saturday afternoon in front of the residence of the Governor of Minnesota, in an upscale neighborhood of Saint-Paul.
A peaceful and highly symbolic rally two days before the opening of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who killed George Floyd while keeping his knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, on May 25 in Minneapolis.
VIDEO. Who is Derek Chauvin, the police officer accused of the murder of George Floyd?
"Everyone must understand that George Floyd is the face of hundreds of other murders committed by the police in the state and the rest of the United States", insists Toshira Garraway, one of the organizers of the event.
“Behind every case there are family and friends,” continues this 34-year-old young woman who oscillates between anger and sobs.
You can imagine the number of people traumatized by police brutality… ”
Pass laws making it easier to prosecute police officers
Toshira's fiancé, Justin Teigen, died in troubled circumstances on August 19, 2009. As police officers in Saint-Paul try to stop him, officers explain that he was in a car accident and then took escape on foot before hiding in a garbage container.
His swollen body will be found six hours later in a waste reprocessing center.
According to his ex-partner, the young man, then aged 24, was beaten by the police.
But officially his case was never treated as a homicide and no charges were ever brought against anyone.
"The last thing he said to me was: bring me back my son," breaths Torisha Garraway on the verge of tears.
The couple had a child and were considering buying a new home to have more.
Saint-Paul, Minnesota.
In the procession, many demonstrators carry a sign "Black lives matter" (Black lives matter).
LP / Philippe de Poulpiquet
At the head of her collective, this African-American with long blond dyed hair is fighting for the reopening of all pending cases of police violence.
“As the families of the victims, we hope and pray that those close to George Floyd will achieve what we have never had at the end of the trial.
And we will continue to fight for this chance, ”she insists, haranguing the small crowd in front of her.
In the procession, many demonstrators carry a sign "Black lives matter" (Black lives matter).
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Microphone in hand, several relatives of victims take turns.
“Losing a child is not easy.
And losing him to the police is even harder, ”says Matilda Smith, Jafford Smith's mother.
Her 33-year-old son died in May 2016, shot dead in Saint-Paul after seriously injuring his partner and shooting at the police.
At the end of the investigation, the perpetrators of the shootings were not prosecuted.
“It's been five years but the wound is still alive, says this woman who carries the portrait of her son on a sign.
You never get over a thing like this, there is no way back to normal.
The activist calls on the Governor to pass laws facilitating the prosecution of the police.
“No justice.
No peace ”
Saint-Paul, Minnesota, March 6.
“In a fair system, if you are a human being and you take another human life, you must be accountable.” LP / Philippe de Poulpiquet
By grabbing the microphone, the father of Brian Quinones lowers his mask bearing the image of the collective.
He wants his voice to carry even more to cry out his pain and his anger.
“On September 7, 2019, I became a member of a group to which I would never have wanted to belong,” says this white man carrying a goat.
That evening, his son was stopped at the wheel of his vehicle by five police officers.
Feeling threatened, several of them shoot in his direction.
Affected seven times, the 30-year-old succumbed to his injuries.
No police officer will be prosecuted.
“The police always want us to believe that our relatives are criminals but as soon as we dig a little deeper the reality is different, he loses his temper.
The investigators promise us that they will be transparent but these are lies.
"
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For all these activists, it is the impunity enjoyed by the police that is at the heart of the problem.
"The only police officer to have been sentenced in Minnesota for having killed a civilian is Mohamed Noor," recalls Torisha Garraway, referring to the case of this officer of Somali origin sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison after killing Justin Diamon, a 30-year-old Australo-American, in 2017.
"But it was a black policeman who had killed a white woman," notes the activist. It is yet another illustration of the privilege of being white. Normally, in a fair system, if you are a human being and you take another human life, you are accountable, regardless of your uniform or your nationality, like any citizen. No one should be above the law. The argument hits the mark. “No justice. No peace. Pursue the Police ”, chant the demonstrators who begin a brief march around the block. “Justice for George Floyd, Justice for everyone,” concludes one of the speakers.