ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Demonstrators say they disagree with Rock Island County States Attorney Dora Villarreal's decision, clearing the officers involved in the shooting of Deshawn Tatum of any wrongdoing. People gathered Monday night, May 24th, both outside and inside Rock Island's City Hall. They say Tatum's death was not a justified one.
"We have a division here in the QC. This is a horrible division," Rock Island resident Yolanda McDuffy said . "You look at the people around here, it is them versus us, and that is not how I was raised."
"The problem that we have in Rock Island is that we have a deep mistrust between the community and the police," Rock Island resident and former Mayoral Candidate Thurgood Brooks said Monday. "Every time someone gets hurt, mistreated, or killed, whether that's a police officer, because yes we want them to be safe too, or a community member, that mistrust deepens."
Organizers at Monday's demonstration say they're planning another rally for sometime in June.