Protesters remember man killed by officer in Miami

MIAMI – Friday marked a month since a police officer fatally shot 34-year-old Antwon Cooper during a traffic stop in Miami’s Liberty City.

Cooper’s loved ones met on Friday to protest. They chanted in unison, “NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!” just feet away from where Cooper died on March 8th, across from Miami Northwestern Senior High School. Some were in tears.

Attorney Rawsi Williams, who is representing Cooper’s grieving family, said his loved ones want the truth about what happened at the intersection of Northwest 71st Street and Northwest 10th Avenue.

“At no time have we seen any weapon in my Cooper’s hand,” Williams said about the officer’s body camera video, which shows the officer asking Cooper to step out of the car.

There was a struggle during the traffic stop. The police department released the photo of a gun. Williams said it is clear that Cooper wasn’t wielding a gun and the officer engaged in “unjust lethal force.”

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Miami Chief Manny Morales spoke to reporters about the fatal police shooting on March 9th.

“Officers became aware that one of the individuals was armed. A struggle ensued and one of the officers discharged his firearm,” Morales said.

Like many of Cooper’s loved ones, his grandfather Melvin Bryan and his father, Gerald Adams, are not convinced that what Morales said was the whole truth. Williams agrees. They both said they want justice for Cooper.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates police-involved shootings.

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