LLG Coast to Coast for NAACP - Day 3
The team is now through four states having entered a fifth, and is nearly 100 miles West of St. Louis, Missouri!
As we approach our fundraising goal for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, we’ll share another story with you, this time from St. Louis.
Marvia Gray, 68, and her son, 43, were at a Sam’s Club in St. Louis on May 20, 2020 when she and her son were attempting to return a television they had previously purchased and were accused of stealing it. A police officer followed both Marvia and her son from their car, and three other officers were inside. Witnesses report that the officers physically and violently took both Marvia and her son and threw them on the ground, proceeding to beat and arrest both of them. Marvia was charged with interfering with an officer and resisting arrest, she later spoke how she was afraid that her and her son were going to be the next statistic on white cops killing black people. Marvia suffered permanent injuries from this encounter and her son a concussion and three broken teeth.
The St. Louis Police Department has had the highest rate of police shootings, with police shootings at an average of more than 5 people per 100,000 residents; this places the average significantly higher than other big cities such as Chicago and New Orleans which barely reach an average of 3 shootings per 100,000 residents. The department has many accusations of excessive force and racial prejudice regarding their arresting.