Local social justice groups are planning a march and rally in Redwood City on Friday to demand justice for Breonna Taylor and an end to police killings.
The event, organized by Tha Hood Squad and Justice Vanguard, is set to march from artist Jose Castro’s mural at 2nd Avenue and Middlefield Road in North Fair Oaks and then rally at Courthouse Square, 2200 Middlefield Road, according to a flyer circulating on social media.
“Redwood City has a problem. America has a problem. It’s time to BE that solution no matter how long it takes,” Tha Hood Squad states on social media.
The protest is set to be held one week after following the controversial arrest of an apparent counter protester at a pro-police rally in Courthouse Square. It’s also set to happen amid an ongoing debate over how to reform police in Redwood City. Calls for police reform stem from the national “defund police” movement that emerged following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. On June 2, a peaceful demonstration drew about 2,000 to Courthouse Square in response to Floyd’s death on May 25.
The groups organizing the upcoming protest on Friday held a similar event attracting about 150 protesters in Menlo Park on Sept. 26, according to Palo Alto Online. Chanting demonstrators at times blocked traffic, but news reports indicate the event remained peaceful. The protest was one of many held nationwide in the days following a grand jury decision in Louisville not to indict police officers on murder charges in the death of Taylor. On March 13, Taylor was fatally shot in her Louisville apartment by police who were executing a search warrant.
