Shooting Sit-In Planned For 135 Hours In Denver
DENVER (AP) — The latest on Colorado's reaction to police deaths, police shootings.
3:55 p.m.
Black Lives Matter supporters plan to continue a sit-in in Denver in response to the police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana through Tuesday for a total of 135 hours. That's an hour for each of the black people they say have been killed by police across the country this year.
The gathering directly across from the City and County Building began Thursday afternoon, several hours before police officers in Dallas were killed.
Organizer Vince Bowen says it's intended to be a place for African-Americans to "be human" and grieve and vent about this week's shootings of black men by police. Because of the Dallas shooter's comments about Black Lives Matter, Bowen says they will also now be keeping an eye out for anyone who might want to link them to what happened there.
People have been dropping off food and water for those camped out on chairs and blankets in the shade of a large tree in Civic Center Park, not far from other people playing soccer and taking wedding photos.
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3:25 p.m.
Denver's mayor is asking residents to join gatherings across the city this weekend to discuss the killing of police and the recent shootings of black men by police.
Mayor Michael Hancock said Friday that the covenant between the public and police has been breached by the events in Dallas and said everyone has to help repair it and denounce violence.
At a press conference to announce the effort, he also spoke about how disturbed he was by the video of the police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota. He says he, the city's police chief and public safety commissioner, who are all black, heard from their adult sons this week and all expressed pain and confusion about the shootings. He said none of them knew what to say to their children and he says that's why the community needs to have conversations about this — to come up with answers.
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1:15 p.m.
Colorado lawmakers, ministers and civil rights leaders have denounced violence and expressed sympathy for the families of the police officers slain in Dallas.
About 50 people gathered to hear the speakers outside the state Capitol on Friday afternoon. Some speakers also called for criminal justice system reforms so black communities can be protected without violence.
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9 a.m.
Protesters held a peaceful demonstration in Denver on Thursday night in response to the fatal police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana this month.
At one point, some sat down in the street outside the state Capitol as police stood by, but no arrests were made.
Some activists are pledging to continue a sit-in at Civic Center Park for five days to call attention to each black person shot and killed by police across the country this year. They say there were 135, and the demonstration is scheduled to last 135 hours.
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