SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Daniel Prude's killing received little public attention until his family released video and records they worked months to obtain from police.
"It's a real big blow to the gut for our community in particular, to see this had happened, and they were able to keep it under wraps for so long," said JUICE co-founder, Meg White.
White and Nehemiah Johnson are both co-founders of Justice Unites Individuals and Communities Everywhere or JUICE. It’s a local activist group fighting for social justice in Sacramento.
White and Johnson say the video of the incident circulating online is re-traumatizing and numbing to marginalized communities across the country.
"And that's not a good thing at all. This shouldn't be a thing I'm used to -- seeing people who look like me, who have the same skin tone as me, being killed for no other reason than being misunderstood," Johnson said.
While news of prude's killing pains them, they say it reaffirms their mission.
"I cannot even begin to fathom the amount of pain and fear that he must have gone through," White said. “We need to reallocate funds from law enforcement to the agencies that can actually help people that are in trouble."
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg has taken a step in that direction.
“I propose we invest $5 million now to establish a new city department for non-law enforcement responses to 911 calls that do not involve criminal activity," Steinberg said.
That measure passed, but White says there is mistrust in government agencies closely tied to police. JUICE would rather see funding for community groups already doing the work, like Mental Health First.
Activists say without protest meaningful change may never happen.
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