‘Defend Black Life’: KC marchers head down Ward, demanding justice for Donnie Sanders
Reshonda Sanders, the little sister of Donnie Sanders who was shot and killed by police last year, said during a Saturday protest that she just wants justice.
“We just want justice,” she said. “We just want justice.”
A group of more than 50 protesters marched along Ward Parkway from Arno Park to Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker’s house Saturday afternoon to call for justice for Donnie Sanders. The prosecutor’s office announced this week that the Kansas City police officer, 24-year-old Blayne Newton, who shot Sanders will not be charged.
Donnie Sanders’ older sister, Youlanda Sanders, said he didn’t deserve to die for a traffic stop.
“Man I miss my little brother,” she said, adding that she has also lost her son. “I’m tired. This ain’t right.”
Donnie Sanders’ family had two demands for Baker: to release a complete copy of the police investigation file and a complete copy of all evidence that Baker reviewed when making the decision to not prosecute the officer.
“We’re going to keep going ... until we get some form of justice,” Reshonda Sanders said. Her brother wasn’t doing anything wrong, she said. They want the officer held accountable.
“We demand for Officer Newton to be held accountable for his actions and that’s all we’re asking,” Reshonda Sanders said, “for him to be held accountable.”
The officer fatally shot 47-year-old Donnie Sanders on March 12, 2020, near Prospect and Wabash Avenues. Newton said he believed Sanders was armed, police said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reviewed the investigation last year after the prosecutor’s office handed the case over once KCPD had completed its review. The highway patrol began investigating fatal and non-fatal shootings by members of the Kansas City Police Department on June 13. That day, an officer shot and killed William Slyter.
Baker said Monday that there was insufficient evidence to file charges in Sanders’ case.
Newton is the same officer whose arrest of a pregnant Black woman in September is under review.
During the protests last summer, Sanders’ was among four names of Kansas City men chanted by protesters. The others: Ryan Stokes, Cameron Lamb and Terrance Bridges.
As protesters marched down the street, several neighbors came outside to watch as protesters chanted “no justice, no peace.” One man clapped and said “thank you.” Teenagers sat on porch steps. Others took video. And as protesters stood in a circle outside Baker’s home, an occasional bicyclist pedaled through the crowd.
Baker later responded to the Saturday protest on Twitter saying she supported the peaceful protest that took place outside her house.
“I fully support the right to peacefully protest. That includes the protest that occurred at my home today,” she said. “I do question those few people who decided to carry and display rifles at a peaceful protest, to block traffic, and to vandalize a car, which also occurred today.”
During the Saturday march, police responded after a car, which was stopped before trying to drive through the intersection at 69th Street and Ward Parkway, hit a protester at low speed. It did not appear the person hit was injured. The protester hit the car with his hand and others yelled at the driver for hitting a marcher.
At least seven patrol cars responded. Police walked one protester away with his hands behind his back. Kansas City police said the man was arrested for investigation of property damage. The driver, spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said, was a victim of property damage.
There were a few other confrontations with cars trying to make their way across the roadway. Protesters chanted “hold this space” and continued calls for justice.
“I want to again convey my condolences to the family of Donnie Sanders,” Baker said in a second tweet directing people to the Jackson County prosecutor’s for the full report detailing the evidence in the case.
Marchers made their way back to Arno Park calling for justice for Donnie Sanders, the firing of Chief Rick Smith and carried several signs donned the words “Demilitarize Police, Defend Black Life.”
Before the march, Rev. Randy Fikki, of Unity Southeast Kansas City, said that while Donnie Sanders’ life was taken, his spirit was not.
“The spirit of Donnie Sanders lives on in his family members and his friends and in each and every single one of us,” Fikki said. “Today is the day we make sure his legacy is never forgotten.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2021 at 6:41 PM.
