BLM

This summer, people in Chelsea joined those around the state and the country to protest against racism and police brutality, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. Some of those protestors were issued tickets by the Chelsea Police for impeding traffic.

Today, a District Court judge dismissed those tickets, saying they were issued under "an unconstitutional statute." This comes after a unanimous decision by Chelsea City Council last week to recommend that Chelsea Police Chief Ed Toth dismiss the tickets.

The summer of 2020 was marked by protests for racial justice following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

Residents of Chelsea, a small town of around 5,000 people, 95% of whom are white, made their voices heard with marches and protests of their own. The Chelsea Police Department issued at least 18 tickets to those protesters for blocking the road.

Mya King, a sixteen-year-old from Chelsea, says she's been involved in activism in her city for awhile now. She was issued a ticket for impeding traffic during a Black Lives Matter protest over the summer.

King's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the ticket in the 14A district court this week.

At another, separate protest, she says she was punched in the face by a woman who began yelling at middle schoolers and high schoolers at the event. 

A federal judge late Friday temporarily barred Detroit police from using tear gas, rubber bullets, batons, shields, chokeholds or sound cannons against peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters after a group accused the city for excessive force.

Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Grand Rapids once again Friday, but this time it was to honor one of the city’s own.

Breonna Taylor was killed by police officers in Louisville, Kentucky in March, just a few months shy of her 27th birthday. Taylor was in her own room, in the middle of the night, when officers shot her while carrying out a “no knock” warrant looking for someone else.

Earlier this week, Louisville banned “no knock” warrants through legislation now known as “Breonna’s Law.”