Protest Erupts In Memphis After U.S. Marshals Fatally Shoot A Young Black Man

On Wednesday, U.S. Marshals fatally shot a young black man in Memphis, causing a protest to erupt after.

According to CNN, Tami Sawyer, the Shelby County Commissioner said Brandon Webber, 20, was shot and killed by authorities on Wednesday in the Frayser neighborhood.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations said authorities from the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force came in contact with Brandon because he was reportedly wanted on multiple warrants. While attempting to arrest him, authorities claim he allegedly rammed his car into the officer’s cars. They continued to say that he allegedly exited his vehicle with a weapon. He was then shot and killed by officers.

Commissioner Tami Sawyer took to her Twitter and said, “Don’t judge Frayser without asking a community how it feels to mourn their youth over and over again. What do people do with their pain and trauma when it gets to be too much when a city has ignored them when their loss is too great and they can no longer yell at the sky?”

https://twitter.com/tamisawyer/status/1139033427943014400

Thursday morning, Mayor Jim Strickland said at least 24 officers and deputies were injured during the protest, and six of them were reportedly taken to the hospital.

According to the Washington Post, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reportedly said in a statement that they would not name the officers involved in the shooting. The Memphis Police Department also mentioned none of their officers were involved in the shooting.

In a Facebook post, Mayor Jim Strickland mentioned how proud he was of the first responders and said, “I’m impressed by their professionalism and incredible restraint as they endured concrete rocks being thrown at them and people spitting at them.”

We send our condolences to the family of Brandon Webber during this time, and we’ll continue to keep you posted as this story updates.

Sources: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/memphis-unrest-officer-shooting/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/06/13/memphis-shooting-brandon-webber-us-marshals-service-protests/?utm_term=.2d5a35e35a82