After Police Shooting Armed Black Men Lead Protest In Louisiana
A group of armed Black men led a protest march in Lafayette, LA on Saturday (Oct. 3) after local police shot and killed a Black man in late August. The Not F***ing Around Coalition (NFAC) made an appearance dressed in all-black during the demonstration to honor 31-year-old Trayford Pellerin who was shot by Lafayatte police after they responded to a 911 call about an individual that had a knife at a gas station.
CNN reports that more than 400 armed demonstrators were in attendance.
NFAC has made public appearances following other police killings of other Black people including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
"We are US citizens exercising our constitutional rights and the color of our skin shouldn't make any difference," said John Jay Fitzgerald Johnson, leader of NFAC told CNN. "We are the response. We are not the incident," he said. "We are the response to repeated incidents or the response to repeated injustices."
The NFAC’s goal is reportedly to help the Black community stay safe and teach more Black Americans about their rights and responsible gun ownership.
According to a statement from the Louisiana State Police, Pellerin had a knife at a convenience store parking lot trying to enter the store on August 21. He left when officers tried to apprehend him but they later followed him and used tasers as they continued to pursue him. Officers later shot Pellerin according to Louisiana State Police. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
BET has been covering every angle of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and other social justice cases and the subsequent aftermath and protests. For our continuing coverage, click here.
