Victims Of Police Violence Honored At City Heights Vigil

At 20 minutes after 4 p.m., more than 100 San Diegans in City Heights — and in cities across the country — held a national moment of silence Thursday for victims of police violence, including the shooting of an unarmed black teen in Ferguson, Missouri.

Kim Moore, who organized the local event, said it’s a peaceful way to stand together against police brutality.

"Obviously we know that what happened in Ferguson, Missouri, isn’t an isolated event, it happens all over the U.S. and we wanted to give people a time to recognize that but also remember those victims as well.”

In San Diego, people gathered at the City Heights Performance Annex.

Moore said she put thought into choosing the annex as the gathering location.

“Its in the community where we see most centralized incidents of racial profiling and police violence,” she said.

Existing data on racial profiling in San Diego is inconclusive, but City Heights residents have repeatedly complained to the Police Department. In response, the department is outfitting some Mid-City officers with body cams as a deterrent to racial profiling.

At the vigil, volunteers handed out red pieces of fabric for participants to tie on their arms and posted home-made signs featuring images of those who had been killed by police. Multiple posters displayed photos of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was killed by a police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.

Following the moment of silence in San Diego, Moore asked attendees to shout out the names of people they know had been killed by police violence.

"Too many," a voice from the crowd shouted, among many other names.

Attendees then took turns addressing the crowd from the stage. In response, the crowd raised their arms in the air and said, "Hands up, don't shoot," the slogan frequently used by protestors in Ferguson.

The Missouri incident sparked five nights of protests that have led to clashes between law enforcement and citizens. President Barack Obama on Thursday called for calm by both sides, saying there is no excuse for violence against police or for law enforcement to use excessive force against protesters.

About a dozen San Diego police officers monitored the event in City Heights from afar and a handful more were on stand by, but the participants kept it peaceful.

KPBS multimedia producer Brooke Ruth contributed to this report.