Pain from the loss of a family member, fear for their children’s lives and calls for change were among the things more than 20 people expressed to the city Board of Directors during an emotional public comment period at City Hall on Tuesday.
The topic was the shooting of Bradley Blackshire by Little Rock police officer Charles Starks last month. Residents addressed the city board for at least an hour at the end of the board’s regular meeting — more than twice the usual amount of time allotted for the “citizen communication” portion.
Some speakers called for Starks’ arrest or said the video released of the shooting showed a “cold-blooded murder,” while others called out ward representatives for not reaching out to their communities after the shooting.
They ranged from Blackshire’s mother and stepfather, Kimberly Blackshire-Lee and DeAngelo Lee, to his friends and cousins to people who said they had never met Blackshire, but feared that they or their children would be killed by police.
“I didn’t come up here to point fingers at the Little Rock Police Department or at the city board or anybody at this particular time,” Blackshire-Lee said, tearing up as she spoke. “We need something to change in our city right now or this is not going to get better, it’s going to get worse.”
The only city board member to respond from the dais during the meeting was Ward 1 City Director Erma Hendrix, who said she agreed with the speakers. Doris Wright, who represents Ward 6, spoke privately with Blackshire-Lee.
On Feb. 22, Officer Charles Starks approached a stolen vehicle in a parking lot near West 12th Street and Kanis Road, according to previous releases.
According to dashboard-camera video of the incident released on March 7, the driver of the car, Bradley Blackshire, did not comply with Starks’ commands to exit the vehicle.
Instead, the car rolls forward and grazes Stark’s hip, the footage shows. Starks fired at least three times before stepping in front of the moving vehicle and firing approximately 12 more times, according to the video.
Blackshire died at the scene. Starks was relieved of duty three days after the incident. The criminal investigative file was sent to Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley’s office on March 7, and the internal investigation is ongoing.
After all residents who chose to speak had finished, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. took a moment to compose his thoughts. He said he had prayed with Blackshire’s family and urged the prosecuting attorney’s office to expedite their investigation.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.