Cities from all over the United States answered a call to action on April 14th, Stockton included.
Around 200 people marched down Pacific Avenue in protest to police brutality before assembling at Coldwell Park for food and speakers.
The protest blocked busy intersections, causing temporary inconveniences for hundreds of motorists.
“It is illegal to march down the street like that unless permitted,” Officer Joe Silva told News10. “[Tuesday] was not permitted. It’s why we were there monitoring, and to balance public safety with the right to assemble and the right to freedom of speech.”
That doesn’t mean they didn’t have the riot cops ready though. Hidden in a nearby parking lot were vans of police officers in riot gear ready to “keep order”; in their words.
Community members aren’t praising police just yet for their hands off approach. Just last year riot police surrounded the very same park and arrested the father of late James Rivera Jr., killed by Stockton police.
In attendance were the families of James Rivera Jr., Donald Ray Haynes, Gary Hawkins, Mario Ramero, and O’Shaine Evans from San Francisco.
All photos by Dylan Donnelly.
