By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A seven-minute silent vigil will be held at 7 p.m. tonight in Totem Square for George Floyd, who died last week while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
One of the organizers, Margot O’Connell, said the purpose of the vigil is to “provide a space for people and to make a statement collectively, that we want justice for George Floyd, we want justice for victims of police brutality.”
She said there will be a brief introduction to explain the purpose of the vigil, but there will not be any other speeches.
“It’s a moment of grief, it’s a moment of mourning, but it’s also a moment to come together and to reflect on what we can do as individuals to create a systematic change in this country.”
A letter to the editor by the organizers appears on page 2 of today’s Sentinel. In it they suggested people “bring their own sign in a show of support, love and peace.” They also ask that participants wear face masks and maintain a six-foot social distance.
At mid-morning today the police department issued the following news release:
“SPD has been in contact with the vigil organizer and is confident that tonight’s vigil will be a peaceful and silent gathering. Anyone choosing to attend, please be respectful of others.”
Police Chief Robert Baty said he plans to attend the vigil “as a sign of respect for people’s civil rights.”
Speaking of the Minneapolis incident that ended with the death of George Floyd, Baty said:
“This is an unfortunate and tragic event. We’re lucky in Alaska, and in Sitka specifically, to have professional law enforcement, who are well trained. We respect the rights of people to express their concerns and gather. All we ask is that everyone is respectful of each other. Our goal (as a department) when we come into contact with people is that we treat people with respect.”
