Photos: Family members of people killed by police march to the Minnesota Capitol

A woman holds a picture of a man as she sits in a car window.
Toshira Garraway holds a picture of her son's father, Justin Teigen, during the National Mothers March in St. Paul on Sunday. The family has been questioning circumstances of Teigen's death, who was found dead in 2009 in a recycling bin hours after fleeing St. Paul police. About 180 families from across the U.S. who have lost loved ones to police violence marched down University Avenue to call for an end of police violence, and demand that all cases involving police violence be reopened.
Christine T. Nguyen | MPR News

Family members of dozens of people killed by police — in Minnesota and across the country — marched to the Capitol in St. Paul on Sunday to protest police violence and racial injustice.

Hundreds took part in what was called the National Mothers March. The demonstration came on the eve of another special session of the Minnesota Legislature, in which lawmakers are expected to again take up police accountability proposals.

Organizers said the crowd that marched down University Avenue included relatives of about 180 people killed by police.

Kathy Scott’s son Jarvis Lykes was killed by a Georgia state trooper in 2017. Scott said the trooper never faced charges, and she criticized a legal doctrine that can shield officers from lawsuits over their conduct.

“If we can just get away from qualified immunity, we can get some justice," she told the crowd. "That is the problem.”

Organizers also called on the federal government to reopen investigations into police violence.

Sunday's march and rally were preceded by Saturday workshops for family members of people killed in encounters with police. The gathering was aimed at organizing and coordinating efforts to seek justice for their loved ones.

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