For a minute and a half, a crowd of hundreds fell silent with their fists raised in the air as the family of David McAtee viewed his body, still at the same location where he was shot to death by authorities just after midnight Monday.
In the moments following, a woman sang Amazing Grace.
This may be the the most beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace I’ve ever heard. It brought me to tears. pic.twitter.com/qXuLKUtCHo
— Ryan Van Velzer (@RyanVanVelzer) June 1, 2020
Amid the crowd, people handed out water bottles and broke into spontaneous moments of affection. People hugging police, hugging each other with tears in their eyes.
Around 2:30 p.m. police kept a promise they made to the crowd and left the scene following the removal of McAtee’s body. The crowd rejoined and protest leaders declared the act a small victory amid a larger effort.
“Look today we conquered a territory that they owned. Today we conquered a territory they thought was theirs,” said Emanuel Mitchell.
Photos by J. Tyler Franklin.
