Jackson wants federal probe of Rockford shooting
ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Rev. Jesse Jackson is urging Rockford residents to push for a federal investigation into the police shooting of an unarmed man inside a church-run day care.
At a news conference at the day care center, Jackson criticized a grand jury for ruling last week that the shooting was justified.
He urged residents to push for an outcome that’s “just and fair.”
The Aug. 24 killing of 23-year-old Mark Anthony Barmore at the church-run facility in Rockford has heightened racial tensions in the community. The two officers are white and Barmore was black.
Witnesses say Barmore surrendered. But police have said Barmore tried to attack the officers.
Barmore’s father, Anthony Stevens, says the grand jury decision made for the worst Christmas he’s ever had.
–Associated Press
