After Tulsa verdict, people gather in OKC to say ‘Black Lives Matter … – KOKH FOX25

People gather outside Oklahoma City Police Headquarters for a Black Lives Matter rally days after a Tulsa Police Officer was found not guilty in the shooting death of Terrence Crutcher. (KOKH/Jordann Lucero)

Speaking, chanting and singing, people gathered for weekend rallies in Oklahoma City to say 'black lives matter.'

Groups marched through downtown Oklahoma City Saturday and gathered outside Oklahoma City Police Headquarters Sunday. They said they were following calls to action after a controversial trial came to an end in Tulsa last week.

"We're hoping to avoid or prevent an instance of the tragedy that occurred [in Tulsa] with the loss of life of Mr. Terence Crutcher," Rev. T. Sheri Dickerson said. "We're trying to make sure that no other children go without their parent, that parents aren't having to bury their children-- their sons and their daughters--and that communities aren't trying to figure out how to heal."

Crutcher died in September 2016, after being shot by Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby. A jury found Shelby not guilty of manslaughter Wednesday.

Dickerson said the rallies were ways to mourn Crutcher, but also find allies in the Black Lives Matter cause, and figure out what changes need to be made in communities.

"We're lucky. We have a very great rapport with the Oklahoma City Police Department," Dickerson said. "Chief Citty has been very welcoming and very active in making sure they're not complicit in the problem... So there is progress being made and it's a slow process but we're ready to stay the course."

Former state senator Connie Johnson, who is running for governor, told demonstrators she believes there should be lessons during driver's education about how to act when police pull you over.

"But on the other side of that equation, is what should police be trained to do that is culturally competent when they have an encounter," Johnson said.

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After Tulsa verdict, people gather in OKC to say 'Black Lives Matter ... - KOKH FOX25

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