Winston-Salem (United States): Demonstrators held a vigil in North Carolina here Thursday to demand justice for a Black man. The Black man died days after his arrest following the release of body camera videos. The videos showed the Black man struggling with guards and yelling he couldn’t breathe as they restrained him.
More than 70 participants used their phones as flashlights and sang songs during the vigil for John Neville, the Winston-Salem Journal reported Thursday. Neville’s son, Tremaine Stubbs, spoke to the crowd about parts of the footage released. The footage released Wednesday showed Neville calling for this mother.
“There is no reason that a grown man should be calling for his mama when she is no longer with us,” Stubbs said. “I can’t breathe man my dad said. Suddenly my daddy is gone for no reason,” Stubbs added.
Neville father died at a hospital of a brain injury December 4. His death came three days after his arrest on a warrant accusing him of assaulting a woman.
The struggle with the guards happened while he was booked in Forsyth County jail. Five former jail officers and a nurse were charged last month with involuntary manslaughter in his death.
“White supremacy continues to have its way in this city, in this state of North Carolina, in this country and in this world,” Terrance Hawkins, an activist here said. “We want justice, and we want it now,” he added.
Hawkins said he was disturbed it took the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office months to bring charges in Neville’s death and to release the jail video. A ‘Black Lives Matter’ chapter in the city had called for the video’s release for months. However, Neville’s family opposed making the footage public until last week.
