On June 18, two Seattle cops shot and killed Charleena Lyles, a 30-year-old mother of four, who had called police to report a burglary. Killed in front of three of her children, the 95 pound Black woman was three months pregnant.
Almost immediately, Lyles’ close-knit family gathered together to mourn and to demand justice with a vigil at the site of the killing at the Brettler Family Place complex in Magnuson Park. On June 20, the family was joined by many in the community for a rally and press conference in front of the building.
As community members and the media gathered, children played in the community playground while others gathered at picnic tables to eat while holding signs. Mourners placed flowers at a memorial, while others chalked messages of solidarity on the sidewalk.
To start the rally, family members marched in through the crowd chanting “Say her name! Charleena!”
The rally was opened up by a cousin of Charleena Lyles who shared a powerful spoken word piece. (Video of opening here).
Remembering Charleena Lyles
Numerous family members shared positive memories of their slain loved one, some speaking through tears, as in the case of her sister Tiffany. Charleena Lyles was clearly a person who made strong connections with everyone she came in contact with and was remembered as a loving mother, sister, cousin and friend.
George, a neighbor of Lyles, spoke to say that he would continue to tell the truth about what actually happened, “to bring peace to the family’s hearts” and to counter the lies of the police.
Attorney James Bible, former Seattle NAACP president spoke. “Murder is murder is murder is murder!” he proclaimed. The police serve the rich and white, not “the rest of us.” He pointed out that the day after Lyles was killed, the police in Seattle managed to take an armed alleged bank robber into custody without lethal violence.
Andre Taylor of the group Not This Time spoke. His brother Che Taylor was killed by police in 2016. Since then, Andre has become an organizer and is currently working to change a Washington State law that makes it nearly impossible to convict police officers of unlawfully killing people, because a prosecutor must prove “malice.”
City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant addressed the crowd, expressing her support for the NAACP’s demand that a hearing be convened at which the police would face questioning from the community, in particular Lyles’ family.
One theme that ran through the many speeches was the process by which Charleena Lyles’ character was being defamed after her death by the media, seemingly in an attempt to provide justification for her killing. As her pastor said in speaking to the crowd, “Charleena had issues. We all have issues. Does anyone here have some issues?”
As the rally concluded, James Bible approached the podium to announce that there was already a victory in the struggle for a public hearing, as Councilwoman Lisa Herbold had just announced that a hearing would be taking place. Bible vowed that the struggle must not stop there, with the hearing, but must carry on until justice was achieved.
A militant and long march
At this point, the people began to march out of the park and onto Sand Point Way and then to Montlake Blvd. The crowd was very diverse, with quite a few families with babies and small children in strollers or being carried. Even in mostly affluent, white North Seattle, neighbors came out to applaud and join in the chants. Cars driving on the other side of the median strip honked in support.
As the march turned onto Montlake and passed the University of Washington stadium, the mood shifted. Police had been completely absent, but now in the distance we could see a line of cop cars and riot-equipped officers blocking Montlake with the Montlake Bridge behind them. The front lines of the march linked arms and began marching faster towards the police–then stopped, head to head with cops wielding long batons and some armed with semi-automatic weapons.
A standoff then took place, as marchers faced-off with the cops. The chant “Say her name-Charleena” morphed into “Charleena-she called for help” and then “She called for help and then they shot her!”
A drizzly rain which had failed to dampen protesters militance dried up during the stand off and a double rainbow was seen in the sky south east of the stadium.
Andre Taylor announced to the crowd that the family had decided “We have accomplished what we set out to do” and that they were now requesting that protesters march back to the original gathering site in Sand Point. Hundreds turned around and marched back up the hill to Magnuson Park, as darkness finally set in around 10 pm on one of the longest days of the year.
You can make a donation to Charleena Lyles’ family here.
