Daniela Brighenti Photo
Nearly 30 New Haveners stood in the pouring rain to once again proclaim that Black Lives Matter — including when it’s not a cop who pulls a fatal trigger.
The rally was held a block from the mini-park on Kensington Street, the site of the city’s most recent fatal shooting of an African-American male.
Unlike other Black Lives Matters protests across the country, this one did not concern a shooting by police.
“With the recent shootings, people say that we’re chasing the cop theme,” said Sy Frasier, one of the organizers for New Haven’s Black Lives Matter group. “But that’s not it. We’re all about community and being here to support that community.”
That community, she said, is hurting after the homicide early Saturday of 22-year-old Darly Benton. Belton died from a single gunshot wound to his back. According to Frasier, reports indicate Belton was with four or five other individuals at the time he was shot, but none chose to help Belton or call 911.
Police found Belton lying in a street near the Kensington mini-park after being alerted of the gunshot by the city’s ShotSpotter system. Belton succumbed to his injuries shortly after being taken to a nearby hospital.
“The ambulance took about 30 minutes to come,” Frasier said. “And that’s ironic because [Yale New Haven Hospital Saint Raphael Campus] is right around the corner.”
That, Orisha Ala Ochumare said, shows that New Haven’s black population is not helping itself.
“We are out here to talk about that black on black crime,” Ochumare said. “We messing up too. We are calling for accountability from [the police] messing up, but we messing up too.”
Ochumare addresses rally.
The protesters Monday night withstood heavy rain and lightning, a failing megaphone and a last-minute relocation of the event to take turns sharing their fears of violence. The rally was moved from Kensington, where utility work was taking place, to the park at Chapel and Day streets.
Ochumare noted that Belton was killed right in the middle of “our streets,” and that her young son goes to school nearby, a fact that makes her continuously scared.
Cee Jay noted the high rate of single mothers in Connecticut, and how it can be difficult to make sure children are safe while working long hours every day.
“We’re worried,” she said. “If we work a shift, we have to be there. And that means giving more responsibility, more autonomy to our kids. That’s scary in this community, where we let this man just lay there.”