A peaceful rally was held Saturday at Spokane to demand Justice for Tyre Nichols who was killed after being brutally beaten by several Memphis police officers in January.
Nichols, a 29-year-old father, was beaten after police stopped him for what they said was a traffic violation. More than a week ago, Memphis Police released body cam footage showing officers holding him down and repeatedly punching, kicking and striking him with a baton as he screamed for his mother.
Since that week, protests have erupted across the country calling for justice and demanding answers.
"I want to see police harnessed. They have gone too far, they're the worst gang in the city," said Dave Bilsand who attended the rally in Spokane.
They hope through this protest they can demonstrate that there are people in this city who demand justice.
Even though the killing of Nichols happened across the country, people want the Spokane police department to know they won't tolerate unnecessary violence.
Bisland said, "I'd like to see a bigger presence at city council, to make things work right, work better, working for tenants rights, which is an issue for people of color especially."
One person says change can begin within the Spokane police force.
"Spokane police department has killed more people than any other gang in this city. We just need to become more diversified," said Bilsand.
Peace and Action Justice League in Spokane hosted the rally. The organization says protests are the only way to end the regime of police terror.
"Police violence is completely out of control. For some reason in this country everyone's ok with it. All the violence, all the protests we had. There's basically been no progress to police reform," said Juliane Luna who attended the rally.
One organizer says they hope to use their emotions as positive nonviolent forces for change.
"It shouldn't be a burden on people of color to try to make change, so being here and seeing people who are motivated by the same issues," said Allison Fritz who attended the rally.
Organizers used crowd control volunteers as a safety precaution for potential violence.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.