This browser does not support the Video element.
Families of police brutality victims host voter rally in Grant Park
A Get out the Vote rally was held on Thursday from the families of people who were shot at the hands of police. They’re urging protesters to turn their anger into action at the voting booth.
CHICAGO - A "Get out the Vote" rally was held on Thursday from the families of police brutality victims. They’re urging protesters to turn their anger into action at the voting booth.
“It makes a difference who is in the White House. It makes a difference who respects your house,” said Illinois Rep. Danny Davis.
Politicians and civil rights leaders joined the families of Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Alvin Cole asking people to use their vote to change the system.
“We’re going to use our voices at the polls. We urge you to use your voices at the polls because that’s the only way we're going to change,” said Stephanie Baskin, Breonna Taylor’s aunt.
INFORMATION ON VOTING IN ILLINOIS FOR THE 2020 ELECTION
They frame the election as a battle for the soul of the country, and a referendum on the use of police force.
“We need people who believe what we believe in. . . stand for what’s right. And we need to go vote those people in,” said Brandon Williams, George Floyd’s nephew.
Also on Thursday, the family of a Waukegan man killed by police last week, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging the officer who fired the shot should never have been on the street in the first place.
Attorney Kevin O’Connor announced at the rally that he has filed the lawsuit on behalf of the family of 19-year-old Marcellis Stinnette, who was killed by Waukegan Police officer Dante Salinas.
O’Connor says just two months ago he filed another lawsuit against Salinas for a tasing and confrontation in 2018 that was captured on camera.
O’Connor says he warned Waukegan police that Salinas should be pulled off the street.
“When you watch it, you judge whether that man is fit to be on the force,” said O’Connor.
We have not received a response yet from Waukegan police, which fired Salinas last week because he failed to turn on his bodycam before the shooting.