150 brave 21° temps to protest Mich. police shooting

DEARBORN, Mich. — Chanting "No justice, no peace" and "Black Lives Matter," about 150 protesters braved the winter chill Monday and marched through the streets of Dearborn, demonstrating against the police-shooting death of Kevin Matthews.

Led by Matthews' family and the Rev. Charles Williams II of the National Action Network, the protesters called for justice in the Dec. 23 shooting of Matthews, 35, who was unarmed when a Dearborn police officer killed him in Detroit near its border with Dearborn. The officer has not been publicly identified is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, police have said.

Williams and others called for an economic boycott of Dearborn, saying people should not do business in the city until justice is served in the case.

When demonstrators started in a grocery store parking lot then marched west to Dearborn Police station, it was 21 degrees. Dearborn police trailed the protesters, who temporarily shut down traffic along Michigan near Greenfield. They carried placards that read "We Want Justice For All" and "We Demand Human Rights."

Outside the station, they chanted: "Hey. hey, ho, ho, these racist cops have got to go."

The rally included leaders with Christian, Muslim, labor, and other groups. It was organized by the Detroit chapter of the National Action Network, a national organization led by the Rev. Al Sharpton. The mother of Matthews, Valerie Johnson, and Matthews' brother were at the front of the rally.

Johnson told a throng of reporters she wants to "get justice for my son."

Police should "protect and serve, not kill and maim," said Millie Hall of Detroit with the Coalition of Labor Union Women. "You make a wrong gesture, a wrong glance,  you could be a victim."

Bishop D.B. Walker, who is with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said he's tired of police shootings of African-Americans.

"It constantly keeps on happening again and again," said Walker, who also is with Burning Bush Ministries International in Detroit. He said he has doubts about the police account of what happened to Matthews.

"It stinks. It sounds like a lie," he said.

Dearborn Police Chief  Ron Haddad has said the shooting took place after a struggle between Matthews and police over an officer's gun. Matthews was wanted on a probation violation warrant and had committed a larceny earlier in the day, Dearborn police said.

The family of Matthews said Matthews was mentally ill, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

"Enough is enough," said Aaron McCarthy, also with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. "Anyone who is unarmed, you don't shoot them."

Monday's protest was the third in Dearborn since Matthews' death.

On Christmas Day, more than 100 protesters led by New Era Detroit shut down Michigan Avenue in at least two locations. Dressed in black and chanting "black power," they also marched through residential streets and in front of the Dearborn Police station, according to videos they posted of the demonstrations.

We're not going for this BS no more," New Era Detroit's leader, Zeke, said at the rally, according to a video posted of the protest. "They had no reason to be in the city of Detroit. ... Today marks a change. The black men and women have arrived again."

The following day, Dec. 26, another rally was held outside the Dearborn Police station by the Change Agent Consortium, led by the Rev. David Bullock of Detroit.

Vigils also have been held in Detroit near the shooting scene.

"This incident is tragic for this entire community," Dearborn Police Ron Haddad said last week. "I want to be clear about this — that by this entire community, I mean all of southeastern Michigan, including Dearborn and the Dearborn Police Department.

"It would be my hope that this incident does not divide our community in any way, but we continue to stand together until it’s resolved," he said.

Follow Niraj Warikoo and Daniel Bethencourt on Twitter: @nwarikoo and @_dbethencourt