Please consider donating to the FāVS Fund for Social Justice Reporting
News Brief | FāVS News
The Spokane chapter of the NAACP and Spokane Community Against Racism (SCAR) will lead a vigil at 7 p.m. Monday (Sept. 25) for the killing of Bjorn Manycolors by Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
The vigil will start at the Red Wagon in Riverfront Park and at 7:20 p.m. will move into a peaceful march toward the Runners at the Ribbon, located on the South West corner of Riverfront Park.
Then, at 7:30 p.m. community leaders, activists and affected families of police violence will give speeches and close the vigil.
The Rev. Rick Matters, the NAACP Criminal Justice Committee chairperson and a member of the SCAR Steering Committee, wrote in a Sept. 22 email the reason for the vigil is to stand in solidarity with Manycolors and others affected by police violence.
“Though we have few details, there appears to have been no de-escalation attempted,” Matters wrote.
Manycolors was shot and killed by police on June 4 near the 6300 block of E. Mallon Ave. According to The Spokesman-Review, the Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team is investigating the shooting.
He had an arrest warrant at the time police contacted him, but officials from the Spokane Police Department said the reason he was pulled over by the deputies was unclear, reported The Spokesman-Review.
Records do say Manycolors had a gun and was shooting at the officers, but more needs to be discovered through the investigation.
The title of the vigil is “Justice for Bjorn Manycolors.”