More than 100 people gathered at the Bexar County Courthouse Thursday evening to peacefully protest police brutality in honor of George Floyd, a man killed by a police officer in Minneapolis last week.
As protestors chanted, held signs and gathered in solidarity for Floyd, Mayor Ron Nirenberg addressed the crowd and asked to be held accountable on his promise to better the community.
“It takes more than just security to make a healthy community. And that's what they (protestors) were saying today,” said Nirenberg. “I hear them, and it's a point that we've made over the years, but we've never done anything about it. I'm tired of that, too.”
Activist Lexi Qaiyyim says they want to see real change.
“When he (Nirenberg) said he was going to hold himself accountable for his city, and that he was going to make these changes, I want to see that done,” Qaiyyim said.
“There’s over $400 million dollars spent on law enforcement, and that could go to the communities... the communities that are a little bit on the outskirts of San Antonio.”
The protest ended around 7:30 p.m., and a remaining group began to disperse shortly after curfew started at 9.
Protests are expected to continue Friday at the Pearl.
Kathleen Creedon can be reached at kathleen@tpr.org or on Twitter at @Kath_Creedon.
Dominic Anthony Walsh can be reached at Dominic@TPR.org and on Twitter at @_DominicAnthony.
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