Jacksonville, FL – Around 30 community members gathered in Bruce Park, in Jacksonville, to speak out against police crimes, for community control of the police, and a Jacksonville Police Accountability Council (JPAC).

Members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) gathered with supporters in the Bruce Park area of Arlington, a working-class African American neighborhood on the Southside of Jacksonville. Just weeks ago, Devonte Shipman was harassed and profiled by Officer J.S Bolen, which sparked national outrage and a grassroots efforts around demanding Officer Bolen be fired for his actions – which took place just down the street from where folks gathered at Bruce Park.

Community members shared their different experiences of dealing with police violence. Members of the crowd spoke about why it's necessary to build a mass movement against police crimes and why community control of the police is necessary.

The crowd chanted, “No justice, no peace, people power over the police,” as well as, “What do we want? JPAC, when do we want it? Now!”

JCAC organizer Connell Crooms talked about his experiences with being attacked by Jacksonville police officers at a protest against Trump's intervention in Syria on April 7.

Devonte Shipman reflected on his experiences with JSO just a few weeks ago and how happy he was with how supportive the community has been to him.

“It's a blessing, because this movement is gonna lead farther then just tickets being dropped; it's gonna lead to JPAC,” said Shipman. “It's gonna take time but we'll get there.”

#JacksonvilleFL #PoorPeoplesMovements #OppressedNationalities #US #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #JacksonvilleSheriffsOffice