With DNC Looming, Philadelphia Officials Prepare For Protests To Continue
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- An early morning protest snarled traffic in Center City Philadelphia on Monday. The Philadelphia chapter of Showing Up For Racial Justice took the streets. The group called for Mayor Jim Kenney and city officials to take a stand for black lives after the recent shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
The protest marked the sixth straight day of demonstrations in the city. With the Democratic National Convention just two weeks away, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross says his officers are going to practice patience with protesters who will get the chance to demonstrate in the national spotlight.
Ross says professional patience will continue during the planned and unplanned protests that will take place during the DNC.
"We are organized," said Asa Khalif, a Black Lives Matter protest organizer here in Philadelphia. "We are prepared. We have been preparing for months now and we are going to shut this city down."
Khalif said that he is helping to plan protests during the DNC. "The bottom line is this: Law enforcement better change their wicked ways, or they're going to suffer the wrath of God. We're not going to allow any more of you killing our black and brown people. If we can't get no justice, you will get no peace."
Khalif went on to explain that he would not advocate violence.
Commissioner Ross has two goals: to maintain the peace, while allowing those who gather to practice their First Amendment rights. "At every convention, you're going to get this volatility. That's just the way it goes," said Ross.
With what happened in Dallas, Ross said that his officers will be extra-vigilant during protests at the DNC.
