Eisenhower Expressway blocked

Chicago, IL – 300 people came out to a vigil, April 12, to commemorate the murder of 16-year-old Pierre Loury, the latest Black youth killed by the Chicago police.

The Facebook page for the protest demanded #Justice4Pierre. It read, “We need to know why a 16-year-old child was murdered by the Chicago Police Department (CPD) last night and why the department isn’t transparent in their investigation of the shooting.” It also called for community control of the police. “The community needs a Civilian Police Accountability Council now!”

About 100 people assembled in response to a call by Justice for Families, a support network for families of victims organized by Black Lives Matter-Chicago, and the People’s Response Team, an emergency response network for the movement against police crimes. The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression also mobilized for the action.

Initially there were two vigils, one with about 100 activists, and a second event with about 200 family members and classmates of Loury. Loury’s younger brother, Antoine Hudson, 13, cried out, “He was my brother. Why did the police have to kill him?” Aislin Pulley of Black Lives Matter said, “This is a vigil for the family. 16 years old, Pierre should be here right now.”

The two vigils merged together, gathered on the street in front of the house where he was shot on April 11, and then proceeded to the exact spot in the alley where the police shot him. Reportedly one cop was involved in the shooting. He opened fire on Loury as the young man was running away, hitting him as he reached the top of a six foot tall wrought iron fence. Loury fell to the ground with his pant leg caught in the fence.

After hearing from a number of speakers, again the crowd split, with over 100 marchers heading first to nearby Homan Square, the notorious CPD black site. Over the years, over 7000 people, almost all Black and Latino, have been taken there for questioning with no record of the hours spent there. There are many documented cases of torture of prisoners who were held there.

After that, the march continued for over an hour, and even took over the Eisenhower Expressway.

#ChicagoIL #PoliceBrutality #ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #PierreLoury #Justice4Pierre