Williams family, Milw. Police Assoc. react to inquest verdict
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The verdict in the Derek Williams inquest was followed by immediate reaction from both the Williams family and the Milwaukee Police Association.
The courtroom and the Milwaukee County Courthouse hallway were lined with sheriff's deputies. The media were forced to wait at the opposite end of the hall. This gave Williams' supporters plenty of time to make sure the entire courthouse knew how they felt.
"No justice, no peace. That's all I got to say. And we're going to get justice. You see how it's going. It's going in our favor," said Sonya Moore, Williams' mother.
"When they were just saying yes, yes, yes. I was so happy like, we're making history, you know," said Sharday Rose, Williams' girlfriend.
"I feel like a winner, I feel like Martin Luther King today, I feel like Malcolm X today, I feel like Rosa Parks today, I feel like all our ancestors who have paved the way for us as a people," said Maeleen Jordan, Williams' aunt.
Feelings on the other side of the courtroom were not as joyous. Michael Crivello with the Milwaukee Police Association acknowledges the dashcam recording which led to the investigation is substantial but does not give the public a full picture of what happened that night.
"There is no doubt that video is compelling. But you have to understand, you heard testimony as to what the officers are experiencing at that moment in time and when they believed that young man was in absolute distress, they rendered a proper aid," said Crivello. "They went above and beyond the proper aid. Our officers are taught to use protective masks when they give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation -- and our officer dismissed that and he went right to resuscitation because he wanted to save that young man's life."
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