SALT LAKE CITY – Black Lives Matter Utah protested outside Salt Lake City Police Department on Friday. It coincided with protests across the country and the high profile trial of Derek Chauvin. Chauvin is a former Minneapolis police officer on trial this week for the murder of George Floyd.
“We’re here to make a point … we’re not going to stop,” Josh Chamberlain told KSL television reporter Matt Rascon. Chamberlain told KSL TV that the most important thing they (he and his brother) can do to support the Black Lives Matter Utah movement is to show up at these protests.
“The system is important,” he said, “right down to the police and government is important.” But everyday actions by each of us are also very important. “
The Friday protest was largely peaceful, Rascon reported. Those who took part in the protest in Salt Lake City showed not only support for George Floyd, but also support for Daunte Wright and Bryan Pena-Valencia.
Wright, a 20-year-old black man, was fatally shot and killed by officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic obstruction in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Potter said she mistook her taser for her gun when she shot Wright.
A united police officer fatally shot and killed Pena-Valencia on March 21, 2020. The shooting took place after a chase near 6300 south and 3200 west. The officer reported that he was afraid for his life.
A report from Salt Lake County Prosecutor Sim Gill said the shooting of Pena-Valencia was unjustified and the official’s belief that his life was in danger was insufficient to justify the shooting of Pena-Valencia. But Gill also said he would not prosecute Officer Omar Flores.
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