DENVER — Dozens of people gathered in the bitter cold at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on Saturday evening to protest the police killing of Tyre Nichols, and rally for all victims of police brutality.
“We are out here to show solidarity to not only Tyre but to all police brutality victims and their families," said Iris Butler, who was involved in bringing everyone together for the event on Saturday. “I refuse to watch any more of my Black and brown brothers and sisters die in the hands of anyone else. I feel like videos like that really promote more trauma to the Black community and I refuse to engage with that myself ... disappointed and heartbroken. But as always, it's a fire and motivation to continue to come out and push to create change for our communities.”
The protest was also in honor of Tortuguita, a person who Atlanta authorities said was killed after they shot and injured a Georgia state trooper.
Several groups, including the Denver Communists, helped organize the demonstration. Those behind the event said they do not believe any fundamental progress has happened since the George Floyd protests in 2020.
“It is a protest. It is a rally. It is a demonstration. It's the community coming together again and again and again and again, screaming the same sort of message that we need to change. We need police reform," said Rahma Ahmed, one of the activists who helped organize the event. “If you had a broken windshield, you wouldn't just fix one part of it, right? You would replace it and improve it with something better. That's kind of what I want with the police system. You can't just hold certain cops accountable. You have to hold them all accountable.”
The event started with speeches on the steps of the Capitol and ended with a march through the city of Denver.
“I am angry because I've seen this time and time again," said Mary Reeves, who also helped organize the protest. “It's a collaborative effort. We need to build mass movements from the ground up to fight this unjust system.”
Those at the protest said they will always show up to fight injustice and systemic racism. They hope their efforts lead to lasting change.
