KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Protesters spent the night outside Kansas City, Mo. City Hall Friday night, demanding action after a viral video shows Kansas City police officers kneeling on a pregnant woman's back during an arrest.
Around 45 people occupied the front lawn of City Hall, spending the night in tents and sleeping on the concrete around the Abraham Lincoln statue. They are calling for the termination of KCPD Chief Rick Smith and Officer Newton, the officer accused of kneeling on the woman's back.
We are occupying the front lawn of City Hall until KCPD Chief Rick Smith and Officer Newton who knelt on a 9 months...
Posted by Stacy Shaw on Friday, October 2, 2020
Around 5:30 a.m., KCPD announced on a loudspeaker that people need to leave peacefully.
During a press briefing around 1 a.m., organizers said they planned to be around most of Saturday.
Protesters attached several signs to the Lincoln statue and along the sidewalk recognizing those who died due to police brutality and asking for Chief Smith’s removal. They also had a poster with police board members’ pictures on it.
A Black Lives Matter banner was attached to the doors of KCPD headquarters.
