Hundreds of protesters gather, march over George Floyd's death
ORLANDO, Fla. - Protesters gathered outside the vacation home of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, chanting, “We are the fighters… the mighty, mighty fighters."
Most were holding signs and banners reading, “I can’t breathe” and “Black Lives Matter”.
They’re angry about the killing of George Floyd in a confrontation by a uniformed police officer while three other officers stood by.
“Three are still free... Three are still free,” protesters repeated in unison.
While Chauvin has been arrested, the three other officers are still free.
“Enough is enough. It doesn’t matter if a person is educated or not educated, a black person in the country just doesn’t have the same life expectancy as other people,” a protester named Sydney said.
She drove over from Tampa to take part in the protest.
“We do have a good voice out here. I see just not black people. I’m seeing Latinos, seeing white people out here, so I feel good about the numbers, but I’m not feeling good about this nation,” Sydney said.
Jeannie Economos isn’t feeling good about our country, either.
She and a friend held an American flag upside down, signaling that our country is in distress.
“I cannot stand to see one more black life be killed by police that gets unaccounted for and police go unarrested and continue to walk free. This is an outrage. If people aren’t outraged, they need to wake up,” Economos said.
Sydney said what’s going on is everyone’s problem.
“It can’t just be black people saying it’s wrong. It has to be everybody saying it’s wrong. At this point, it’s a white issue. It’s an Asian issue. It’s a Latino issue. Everybody needs to show up and do something about this,” the 25-year-old said.
She said she's thankful Saturday's protest stayed peaceful.
She said she's aware of other rallies across the country turning into riots over the last few days.
“The Boston Tea Party was chaos, too, and I think it worked out in America’s favor. It is what it is, unfortunately, sometimes,” Sydney said.
Around 2 p.m., the protesters left the front of Chauvin’s Windermere home and drove to Downtown Orlando, joining another group protesting George Floyd’s murder.
Hundreds of people marched from the bandshell at Lake Eola to the Orange County Courthouse and Orlando City Hall.
A Lieutenant on scene told FOX 35 News that the protesters have been peaceful and Orlando police have not needed to make any arrests.