Protesters demand justice for pregnant woman seen in KC police arrest videos
Protesters gathered outside Kansas City police headquarters on Friday evening before marching to the Power & Light District and ultimately beginning the first night of a continued occupation of the area outside City Hall.
Organizers said they will be there until Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith and the officer involved in the arrest of a pregnant woman earlier this week are fired.
The protest came hours after civil rights organizations held a press conference demanding justice for the woman, who is nine months pregnant. The baby girl, according to the woman’s attorney Stacy Shaw, is due to be born Oct. 29.
“Her first interaction with police is the brutality against her mother,” Shaw said.
The woman has been in and out of the hospital since Wednesday night.
Videos of the woman’s arrest at 35th Street and Prospect Avenue show an officer twisting the woman’s arm to put it behind her back and handcuffing her while putting his knee on her back, with her belly on the ground.
“We will not leave until we are either physically removed by force or until our demands are met,” Shaw said as protesters began preparing. “As of 18 weeks, we have not had our demands met. We have not had our demands taken seriously.”
At the beginning of the evening, protesters called for the protection of Black women.
“They’ve done nothing to say, do different,” said Sheryl Ferguson, an organizer with It’s Time 4 Justice. “This just happened Wednesday.”
Ferguson later dropped to the ground to demonstrate the arrest. She showed how the woman would have tried to stay off of her stomach to protect her baby.
Protesters marched to the Jackson County Detention Center, where they chanted: “If one of us is chained, none of us are free,” and “We love you, we see you, we are fighting for you.” While they chanted, people inside flashed their lights.
They then marched to the Power & Light District, where they challenged people eating dinner to participate in the movement by emailing the Board of Police Commissioners and engaging in conversations with patrons.
Protesters began setting up the occupation outside City Hall when they returned.
“It takes us literally going into the mayor’s front yard to be heard,” Shaw said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 10:37 PM.
