A group of about 40 people met in downtown Phoenix at the Cesar Chavez Memorial Plaza Friday evening to demand justice for multiple people killed at the hands of Arizona law enforcement.
The demonstration came after numerous protesters had their charges dropped by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in relation to Black Lives Matter protests last summer, when many Arizona activist groups led dozens of protests.
Organizers said they held the protest to demand that the attorney’s office reopen cases or charge law enforcement responsible for the police shootings.
The event had speeches from close family members of people who were killed by Arizona police such as Dion Johnson, Dalvin Hollins, Anthony Cano and Angel Benitez.
The mother of Dion Johnson, Erma Johnson, and Dalvin Hollin’s mother, Sarah Coleman, both spoke at the protest in addition to the aunt of Anthony Cano and the sister of Angel Benitez.
“I just want to thank everyone for their support, taking the time to come down and show that somebody cares about the kids that have been killed, for the families that are trying to move on, trying to heal and trying to understand what happened,” said Eva Cano, Anthony’s aunt.
In March, police released a redacted report about the police shooting of Anthony Cano, who was fatally shot by Chandler police officer Chase Bebak-Miller on Jan. 2.
Sarah Coleman, Hollins’ mother, said her son was 19 when he was fatally shot by a Tempe police officer five years ago. “He should not be dead, he should be alive,” she said at the event. The officer who fatally shot her son was not criminally charged in his death.
Coleman said she wants more people who have lost a child to police brutality to come forward to stand with the other family members who lost someone to a police killing. She also said she appreciates those who have protested and prayed for or supported her family.
“We need more to stand with us. Don’t be afraid, we got each other because we lost something. We lost a child; we lost somebody we love that we’re never going to see,” Coleman said.
Erma Johnson, whose son, Dion, was fatally shot by an Arizona Department of Safety Trooper the same day as George Floyd almost a year ago, also spoke to protesters. George Cervantes, the trooper who shot Johnson, was also not criminally charged for the killing of Erma’s son.
“This pain is unbearable,” she said. “Some days I don’t know if I’m coming or if I’m going. All I think about is my son. He was my rock.”
Over a phone call, the 15-year-old sister of Benitez, 21, also spoke to protesters about the loss of her brother, who was fatally shot 28 times by Mesa police last year. His mother was seeking $15 million from Mesa for the death of her son.
“It was very tragic,” his sister said. “Every day is a reminder he’s gone. … When it was time for the funeral, it didn’t even look like my brother that I know. Now that I’ve seen him like that, it scarred me for life.”
She also said he would have turned 22 years old on Saturday.
After speeches from family members, organizers Phil Martinez and Darien Barrett with Tempe Against Police Violence led a march east on Jefferson Street toward the downtown stadiums on the sidewalks, chanting the names of Cano, Johnson and others.
