Protest to Demand Justice for Mychael Johnson and Tony McDade

Stop TPD violence against Black lives in Tallahassee

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Saturday, June 6, 2020, Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) in conjunction with state and local activists will hold a Black Lives Matter Car Caravan Protest of the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD).

This protest joins thousands of Black Lives Matter protests around the country with a specific focus on the injustice of local police killings of Tony McDade and Mychael Johnson in Tallahassee. In particular, TCAC is protesting against the decision of the Tallahassee City Commission and Chief of Police Lawrence Revell to not meet community demands.

The creation of a “joint Citizens Review Board to review officer-involved shootings in our community” put forward at the City Commission and Mayor on Wednesday, June 3rd while thousands were outside of City Hall protesting, is NOT what the community wanted. TCAC stands firmly against a toothless “review board” that will be handpicked from a pool of volunteers by the very City Commission and City Manager that put the racist killer cop Lawrence Revell in as Chief of Police in the first place.

In response, we put forward following demands:

1. We demand that the City Commission instruct the City Manager Reese Goad remove Chief Lawrence Revell from office,

2. We demand that the City Commission establish a freely elected group of civilians (not “citizens” – as immigrants would be elected as well) who are NOT affiliated with law enforcement or city government to create a Tallahassee Civilian Police Accountability Council,

3. We demand the Chief of Police release of the body camera footage for all three police killings in Tallahassee this year and insist that the name of the officer who murdered Tony McDade be made public,

4. We demand that the City Commission defund TPD and start spending money on public services for the most impoverished and most vulnerable,

5. We demand the City Commission put public comment back in the Tallahassee City Commission meetings and begin answering the 95,000 people who sent them emails,

6. Finally, we demand the City Commission and Mayor Dailey start responding to our calls, emails and tweets and come to the streets and listen. If the Commission would do this, they will see that we never wanted, or asked for, their toothless review board. We want real answers. Real change.