The Black Lives Matter Restoration Group, members of the Black Panther Party, members of the Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt Group, the President of the Smith County NAACP, the Building Bridges organization, Pastor Carl Soto from Brooklyn, NY, Cortez Rice from Minneapolis, MN who had lost a 15-year-old son to violence, the Jefferson County Medical Examiner, and many others were in attendance on Sunday afternoon in Taylorsville, MS.
The supporters for Tiffany Carter, mother of Rasheem Carter, and her family gathered in the parking lot of the Piggly Wiggly Grocery store on Welcome Street (Hwy 37 north) before marching to the Taylorsville Police Department.
Unlike the first march, which didn't disrupt the town and marched down one of the back streets, this march went down Front Street, also known as MS Highway 28.
Mississippi is an Open Carry state. Guards for the various groups held their AR15 rifles in plain sight. The Taylorsville Police Department and the Smith County Sheriff's Department were prepared for any "unfriendly" occurrences. Approximately 40 MHP officers were on hand along with the Sheriff's Departments from surrounding counties, MBI officers, Game Warden officers, and various police departments. Two Armored Cars were on the ready—one from the Newton, MS Sheriff's Department was parked on Front Street (Highway 28).
Rosie Kersh, President of the Smith County Chapter of the NAACP, spoke to the group and asked that the foul language being used discontinue. (It didn't). Rosie mentioned that, on Thursday, she had spoken to the Medical Examiner for the state, and the body was ready to be released to the family. The autopsy report will not be released for several weeks.
Many rumors surround the disappearance and death of Rasheem Carter. His family has been given access to the footage from the various cameras in the stores Rasheem visited. Had the landowner not provided the still photo from his Deer Cam to the police—Rasheem might never have been found.
It has also been stated previously that the TPD didn't help Carter. The policeman on duty the night that Carter went to the station advised Carter that he could wait, at the station, for his family to come to pick him up. Carter refused the request and stated that he had "dropped a pin" and needed to leave.
This 2nd protest didn't garner the attention of the news media as the first protest on New Year's Eve Day afternoon. No television stations were in attendance, the Smith County Reformer didn't attend the protest, and the only media representation was Amanda and Heath Miller, owners of The Post newspaper in Taylorsville.
This is still classified as an open investigation by the MBI (Mississippi Bureau of Investigation).
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