Less than a week following the acquittal of a former HPD officer and community groups continue to hold angry protests and town hall meetings.
Monday evening, organizers frustrated by the recent not guilty verdict of one of the officers accused of beating Chad Holley issued a veiled warning to city leaders during a meeting at the
Nation of Islam Minister Robert Muhammad told gathers that, “Either we’re going to get real justice, or we can’t have any peace.”
Muhammad’s remarks came as dozens of people gathered to discuss perceived injustices by police and the criminal courts. Last week, protestors sounded off after an all-white jury returned a verdict of not guilty for the first officer to go on trial in the Holley incident.
Those who attended the meeting called for the creation of an independent civilian review board with subpoena power. Muhammad called it the only way to keep what happened to Holley from happening again. He also said people frustrated by the police would be watching the up-coming trials of the other officers accused very closely.
In a heavily veiled warning Muhammad told the crowd, “When people are denied justice, they become instable and insane.”
