'It captures the terror': Attorneys release new video of Philly police using tear gas on protesters
SPRING GARDEN - New video of demonstrators tear-gassed on 676 last year. A law firm released the images Tuesday in the hopes of getting some accountability.
The demonstrations and protests happened in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
"It really captures the terror the police installed in the peaceful protestors. It really captures what those people went through. It went, from one minute joy for celebrations in protest peaceful on 676, to running for their lives, literally," explained Riley Ross.
Newly released video of what happened last year on I676 during the protests supporting George Floyd are a painful reminder of the chaos of the moment. A group of attorneys representing people protesting that day say that’s why they held a press conference Tuesday to show the work continues.
"It looked like something out of a war zone, rather than something you would find on Interstate 676. The newly released six minutes of video shows a view of the protests from ground level in the middle of tear gas and rubber bullets that most of us had not seen and the attorneys want to make sure we don’t forget," Ross described.
The attorneys do represent hundreds of clients, some currently involved in lawsuits against the city and the police. With that being said, they say the hope is that seeing the new video will remind people to learn from the scenes and not waste the last year.
"We’ve been talking to the city through the litigation with the protesters. We are hopeful, but we need to make it happen and this is really just to underscore that," Ross added.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw was not available for comment, but she speak publicly in a recent FOX 29 special and, although obviously not specifically addressing the new video, she did say she remains encouraged by the last year of police-community relations progress.
"We’re talking, we’re having a conversation a year later, but, quite frankly, our momentum has not slowed down. All of our reform efforts that we committed to a year ago, we’re still moving forward," Commissioner Outlaw stated.
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