A group of Ohio mothers who lost loved ones to police violence took center stage at a rally in Dayton on Saturday.
Wearing red and carrying pictures of their late sons, the women spoke to a crowd of over 100 people.
The rally at the courthouse square in downtown Dayton was organized by Ohio Families Unite Against Police Brutality. Organizers came from cities all over the state, including Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus. It was the first in a series of demonstrations aimed at reopening cases of police violence.
Cynthia Brown is the founder of the Ohio Heartbeat Movement, which pushes for more police transparency. Her nephew, Kareem Jones, was killed by two Columbus police officers in 2017. Those officers were cleared of wrongdoing.
“What I want to say is all across America, states are passing laws to end qualified immunity. That is the only way that you're ever going to hold officers accountable," she said. "Officers could no longer say ‘Oh, I fear for my life. I thought he had a weapon.’”
Brown is leading a ballot initiative to abolish qualified immunity in the state of Ohio.
