Protesters descend on AT&T Stadium before Cowboys' SNF game to protest police shooting deaths in Dallas
About 100 people staged a protest outside of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday night ahead of the Dallas Cowboys’ game against the New York Giants to protest two police shooting deaths earlier this month in the Dallas area.
Local pastor Frederick Haynes and Lee Merritt — the attorney for the family of Botham Jean — led the protests and brought two hearses and caskets with them to the stadium to represent the two men, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Demonstrators carrying coffins descend on AT&T Stadium to protest police shooting deaths before the game as the Cowboys play the Giants at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018. pic.twitter.com/pNSL94ViSH
— Max Faulkner (@mfaulknerphotog) September 17, 2018
Social injustice protest outside of @ATTStadium … pic.twitter.com/oCzROtQd6u
— Stefan Stevenson (@StevensonFWST) September 16, 2018
Merritt also said that they chose to protest at the stadium to support NFL players who have protested police brutality and other issues during the national anthem — something Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been openly against.
“We’re going in for reinforcements for the players who would protest against police brutality,” Merritt told the Star-Telegram.
Oshae Terry was shot and killed by an Arlington, Texas, police officer on Sept. 1 as he was driving away after being pulled over.
Jean was shot and killed in his own apartment by an off-duty Dallas police officer who entered the apartment by mistake and thought he was an intruder. The group called for Amber Guyger, the police officer who killed Jean, to be fired immediately and for her to be charged with murder instead of manslaughter.
“Manslaughter is an insult, not only to his legacy, but an insult to what happened that night,” Haynes said, via the Star-Telegram. “We’re calling for the Dallas police department to do everything that they need to do to reform that police department.”
The protest lasted roughly 30 minutes before the game started on Sunday night.
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