Over 200 angry protesters rallied in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, March 27th), calling for justice for 22 year-old Rekia Boyd.

As we told you yesterday, Boyd was shot in the head at 1am last Wednesday after an off-duty officer approached a group of people in his car and asked that they quiet down. One of the individuals, 39 year-old Anthony Cross, approached the officer. Thinking he was holding a gun, the officer open-fired, striking Cross in the hand and (inadvertently) Rekia Boyd in the head. Rekia died later that afternoon.

Initially, Chicago police called the incident “justifiable;” however no weapon was ever recovered from the scene. Cross says he was holding a cell phone, not a handgun.

Community members are outraged at the conduct of the Chicago Police Department.

From the Huffington Post:

“Cross told ABC Tuesday that, “I want people to know I didn’t have no gun. She didn’t have no gun. I want people to know that girl was killed for nothing.”

Ald. Michael Chandler (24th) spoke out Tuesday against the city’s defense of the shooting. He contends that investigators are not doing a thorough job looking into the incident by interviewing neighbors who reportedly overheard the officer tell a crowd “What do I have to do around here to get some peace, quiet and respect? Shoot someone?” the day before Boyd’s death.

“A young person’s life [has been] taken away and there is not one person that has been out on these streets to canvass the area to talk to any of these witnesses,” Chandler told WBEZ.”

Read more at HuffingtonPost.com

Check out a news report on the Rekia Boyd rally below:

 

Do you believe that the CPD conducted a thorough investigation of this indicent?

Will there be justice for Rekia Boyd?

Sound off below!