A peaceful protest was held Saturday in Warsaw to bring attention to the death of George Floyd.
Floyd, 59, a black man, died May 25 after Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, including more than two minutes after Floyd became unresponsive, prosecutors said. While in police custody, Floyd told the officer he couldn’t breathe. Chauvin has since been fired and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Violent protests have riddled the streets in Minneapolis since the incident Friday, including the burning down of the police station. The National Guard was deployed and a curfew was set in the city and surrounding areas after several nights of riots and unrest.
The violence has flared across the country in the wake of Floyd’s death, with protests in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York and over the weekend, Fort Wayne. On Friday night, Fort Wayne police released tear gas into the crowd after officials said the peaceful protest turned disruptive, including people jumping on top of vehicles, causing traffic accidents and breaking business windows.
Maria Medina, 26, of Warsaw, attended the Fort Wayne protest and is one of the two organizers of the Warsaw protest. She and Ofelia Rios connected on social media and both wanted to organize something locally. Medina left before the tear gas was dispersed, she said, adding that her and Rios’ intentions for the Warsaw protest were for it to be “100% peaceful.” And, it was. Nearly 100 people showed up to Central Park between 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday, with signs and a message.
Chants through a bullhorn of “No justice, no peace, prosecute the police,” were heard, along with black lives matter.
“We’re here to speak out for George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, everyone,” Medina told the crowd. “We are here in solidarity with the black community. Everyone needs to be a part of this. If you consider yourself a white ally, we need you here today to help the black and brown communities. We are tired of dying.
We pay these people you guys!,” Medina said. “Black children are being told how not to die when they get pulled over by the police.”
Darius Lewis, 14, and J’ceon Evans, 12, showed up from Milford at the protest, along with their mother Crystal Pamer. Lewis and Evans are black and said they are worried about what’s going on.
“I thought it was messed up,” Lewis said. “It’s still going on, even after people have said not do it.”
“As a mom, it really does scare me,” Pamer said. “I know there’s a lot of racism going on, especially in a small town. I wanted them to experience this and be aware of it and that we’re not gonna sit down and take it.”
Evans said he thinks “it’s really messed up. I know that there’s some good police, but there’s also some bad.”
Elise Frye, 22, and Jesse Devault, 28, both from Warsaw, showed up Saturday and Frye burst into tears when asked what she thought about the video of Floyd.
“I’m angry, I’m just horrified,” she said, before collapsing her head into her hands.
“I’m just disgusted at seeing this almost daily at this point,” Devault said. “There’s no outrage and no outlet other than me putting up a post on Facebook, so when I heard people were coming here, I knew I had to show up.”
Brandy Detrick, 37, of Warsaw, showed up with a sign Saturday in protest.
“It’s sad. Destructive,” she said. “I have nephews and a brother-in-law who are of color and it saddened me that racial profiling still exists.”
Warsaw Police Department officers or Kosciusko County Sheriff deputies were not seen at Saturday’s protest.
WPD Public Information Officer Det. Brad Kellar said police were aware and took precautions behind the scenes.
“As long as it was peaceful, we saw no reason to be visible,” Kellar said. “It seems to have functioned well.”
“We’re not here to be against cops,” Rios said. “We’re here to support George Floyd and his death, but we’re not against the police.”
