Protesters march for Ma’Khia Bryant in Miami. New Police Chief makes surprise appearance

More than a dozen protesters shut down a busy downtown Miami intersection, marched to a nearby jail and announced the launch of nightly protests all in the name of justice for Ma’Khia Bryant, one of the most recent teenagers to be killed by police.

On Saturday, Miami residents and tourists on Biscayne Boulevard took notice of a crowd of about 24 at the Torch of Friendship chanting for the end of police brutality and white supremacy, among other mainstays of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I came out for Ma’Khia Bryant and for all the other people of color who have been killed by police because of systematic racism,” Protester Peter Marusse said.

Bryant, the 16-year-old teenager protesters were demanding justice for, was shot and killed by Columbus, Ohio police as she swung a knife at a woman on Tuesday, just 30 minutes before Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd, the Associated Press reported.

Before the action kicked off, recently appointed Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo took time to speak with some of the protesters.

He had expressed his support of the Black Lives Matter movement and the message protesters were trying to convey, but drew the line when it came to destruction during rallies and protesters getting onto highways, which happened last year in Miami during protests and marches for George Floyd.

One protester said that Acevedo even told them that no arrests would be made during their rally as long as no destruction took place and no marching on the highway.

Just after 7 p.m., the protest began with corner chanting at the intersection of Northeast Third Street and Biscayne Boulevard. As a Miami police bicycle unit watched, the protesters would cross the street, when signaled by the crosswalk signs, chanting “F---12” and “Black Lives Matter”.

Soon after, the protesters decided to up the ante. The crowd walked together out on to Biscayne and blocked any traffic coming through. Organizer Alexandra Williams explained that the protest group knew what would come with this action.

“We’re going to get honked at, we’re going to get yelled at and the possibility of arrest is there but [that] possibility is always there,” Williams said. “Once I started protesting I knew I would be doing it for life and I might die doing it.”

A line of cars quickly piled up and angry drivers slammed on their horns, one passenger even getting of their car and yelling at protesters.

After about 30 seconds, two Miami bicycle officers walked up to the protesters to explain they had to move. After a brief discussion, the officers walked away and the crowd went back to the safety of the street corner moments after.

After an hour of more corner chanting, the crowd began their march up Northeast Third Avenue disrupting the flow of traffic. Miami police quickly moved in behind escorting the crowd with two bicycle officers and a police cruiser.

Up the street they went chanting “No justice, no peace”, “F--- these racist a-- police” and “Justice for Ma’Khia Bryant”. A few blocks away from Biscayne, the crowd turned at North Miami Avenue and stopped in front of the Miami Federal Detention Center.

With prisoner cells looking out on the street the protesters were on, the crowd shouted for the inmates to make their presence known. The sound of inmates tapping on their windows could be heard clearly from the street and others waved a light in their darkened cells.

The protesters chanted up to them “Free them all, Free them all”. This was a similar action taken by protesters during the marches for George Floyd last year.

The group of protesters than marched back the way they came, into oncoming traffic, toward Biscayne Boulevard and the Torch of Friendship.

No arrests were made during the protest or the march as the crowd had followed Acevedo’s criteria.

The only altercation was during the brief traffic obstruction which only resulted in the small discussion between the group and officers.

Despite a peaceful protest and march with minimal police interference, some protesters said Acevedo’s talks and promises was him “acting fake nice”.

The protesters closed off the night with one final message, shouted through a megaphone to every resident, police officer and tourist in ear shot: they would be back every night from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. seeking justice for those slain by police and demanding change.

A controversial killing

Bryant’s killing has caused much outrage on social media, like many other police-involved shootings do, but the situation surrounding it has many puzzled and searching their feelings when forming an opinion.

Bryant’s family members told the AP that she herself had called police saying two “grown girls” were trying to fight and stab her and her grandmother.

When Officer Nicholas Reardon arrived it was only 11 seconds until he had shot Bryant, who had a knife in her hand.

“There’s been so many situations, literally viral Twitter videos, of white people doing the most wild things and all they get is tased or chased,” Williams said. “It took 11 seconds for this officer to shoot Bryant four times. That is beyond me.”

Williams says that when a victim has a weapon in these types of police shootings “people are hesitant on defending that” and arguments like “Who shot or attacked first?” become the focus.

But she thinks having a weapon shouldn’t change the need to reform the way police handle these situations so another Black or brown person is not killed again.

“The reason why people die is not because they are armed or unarmed or have done previous crimes. It is because they are Black,” Williams said.

South Florida is no stranger to police shootings

So far in April, there have been six police-involved shootings, some where a weapon was involved, in Miami-Dade and Broward counties across five police departments.

While none have garnered the national attention Bryant’s death has, a woman and a man were killed while three others were injured.

An off-duty Hollywood police officer shot at a Washington man who was trying run them over moments after he threatened to “spray” them and another officer. The man was uninjured.

A Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy shot and killed a man who came at him with a knife. The man had previously been in a Ross Dress For Less waving the knife around and cutting himself.

A Plantation police officer shot and injured a suspect who had shot and grazed them. The officer was part of BSO’s Drug Task Force and was working with the DEA to arrest two suspects in a joint cocaine investigation.

A Fort Lauderdale police officer shot and injured a man in a domestic violence case. The man had shot at police and officers fired back.

Miami-Dade police officers shot and injured a man who had fired at them. He was suspected of killing a dog and injuring two people earlier that day. Miami-Dade officers also shot and killed a woman while serving an eviction. Officers say she had fired at them before they shot her.

Only one police officer or deputy was injured in these shootings.