Snap rally against police violence to go ahead tonight

by GRACE JOHNSON

A snap rally calling for the end of police violence will go ahead tonight (Friday evening) following the Mardi Gras board’s decision to allow NSW Police to march in the parade.

Activist group Pride in Protest say that the board’s backflip decision is a betrayal to the community that is currently mourning the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.

“This is a march demanding an end to police violence, ranging from the murders of Luke Davies and Jesse Baird to Blak deaths in custody like Veronica Baxter,” Pride in Protest said in a statement.

“We are also marching to take the fight up against the bigots,” they continued. “Christian Lives Matter is back, and our community is under threat. The Labor Party have done nothing since the gay bashing last year, and has delayed the Equality Bill over and over.”

“Now their councillors are banning drag storytime and intimidating the board into having cops in the parade.”

Mardi Gras initially requested that police not attend the march because the community needed “space to grieve the loss of Jesse and Luke.”

“Having the NSW Police march this year could add to the distress within our communities, already deeply affected by recent events,” they said in a statement.

NSW Commissioner Karen Webb said on Wednesday that “police have agreed not to march in uniform, in consideration of current sensitivities.”

However pressure remains high for NSW Police to commit to implementing recommendations from the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes.