Tallahassee Students Join Nationwide Protests For Police Reform

By Jackson Prebe | Assistant News Editor

Tallahassee college students are the heart of the city’s movement calling for police reform.

In recent weeks, hundreds of students from Tallahassee’s colleges and universities have participated in marches on the Florida Capitol demanding changes to Tallahassee Police Department operations. Donning signs with statements such as “Black Lives Matter” or “say their names,” they bring a diverse array of motivations for their activism and share a common desire for change.

Some of the motivations are deeply personal, like those of a Tallahassee Community College student who only provided his first name, Lee, for what he said are legal reasons. Lee has attended many of the recent protests, and said his cousin was shot and killed by the police in Fort Lauderdale over 10 years ago.

“It could easily be me with a police officer on my neck, screaming for my momma,” said Lee. “I owe it to my ancestors. I owe it to my cousin who got shot by the police.” 

Florida State University student Jalen Blocker, who is a member of the 850 movement, said the relationship between TPD and the black community is predatory. 

“The people who are supposed to be serving and protecting the community are tearing it apart,” Jalen said.

TCC student Enrique Dowling, a member of the LGBTQ community, said they are encouraged by the community activism, but feels it is unfortunate the issue is politicized by those in government. 

“It would be nice if they listened to what we’re fighting for, and one of the first steps is knowing we’re all peaceful and not trying to incite violence,” said Enrique. “We’re just fighting for what’s right.” 

FSU student Aidalis Santana said she feels it is important to be active while in Tallahassee, the home of the governor and center of policymaking. “We’re taking advantage of the opportunities we’re given by being in this place at this time,” Santana said. “Here, people will see it if you do something.” 

Organized by the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, these protests are attempting to raise awareness and support for the organization’s demands regarding reforms of TPD, the first of which is the creation of a Civilian Police Accountability Council. 

The proposed CPAC would be an elected body of community members unaffiliated with law enforcement that plays a role in overseeing the allocation of funds as well as the hiring and firing of TPD officers. 

Some protestors say TPD’s responses to recent protests show an urgent need for CPAC.

First, a curfew was put into place on Sept. 2. The curfew came at the request of Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil due to “the violence that has recently taken place at local protests, which have escalated in seriousness and the potential for bodily harm,” referencing an incident at a march on Aug. 29 in which a counter-protester pulled his concealed firearm after a physical altercation with protesters.

Many protestors felt the curfew was an attempt by law enforcement to limit their constitutional right to protest, as TCAC claims to have only two instances of violence at protests in over 8 years of activity including the Aug. 29 incident. The second instance was when a truck drove through a crowd of protesters, striking multiple people on May 30.

While protesting a grand jury ruling that found 3 TPD officers justified in the killing of Tony Mcdade, Mychael Johnson, and Wilbon Woodard, a Sept. 5 march was stopped short when TPD pulled over TCAC co-founder Trish Brown for impeding traffic. Nearby protesters attempted to prevent her arrest before over 200 TPD officers, many in riot gear and some with K9 units, responded to disperse the crowd.

Nearly two dozen protesters were arrested, mainly charged with resisting an officer without violence and unlawful assembly. Other charges included inciting a riot, battery on an officer, and resisting an officer with violence.

FSU senior Valentina Beron, who is president of Students for a Democratic Society at FSU, was at the Sept. 5 protest and was trapped behind TPD’s line of riot shields. 

“I was linking arms with a man next to me. They slammed him,” Beron said. “My arm started being twisted. There was an officer with a shield behind me. I stood up and said ‘please let me go.’ He told me ‘too f***ing late’ and he pushed me down.”

There has been public backlash to TPD’s response to Sept 5’s march. State Representative Ramon Alexander called it a “massive show of force.”

City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow also expressed concern with TPD’s “disproportionate” response, telling WCTV “we don’t want to see this evolve into something much worse.”

Four days following the arrests, Chief Lawrence Revel defended TPD’s response, explaining in a city commission meeting that the department was prepared for the possibility of the protest clashing with a nearby Trump rally. TPD had a large riot control force on standby, proportionate to the estimated combined crowd size of over 500 people.

Chief Revel said the riot control officers were hidden away to quickly respond to the potential clash, and were called upon when officers were assaulted by protesters after Brown’s traffic stop. 

Despite her arrest and outstanding charges from Sept. 5, Brown said she is undeterred in her personal fight for justice. She feels change is imminent, and expressed her resolve in a tearful speech after a recent march.

“We’re so close to making a change, and they don’t want that,” Brown said. “We’ve got to keep fighting. We’ve got to keep putting our foot down. We’ve got to keep making a stand. We’ve got to continue pushing forward. I love you all. All of you are my brothers and sisters. I love you all, and that’s so real. I will go to war for you, all of you. This is unity. Black, brown, white. This is unity.”