On Monday afternoon dozens of activists gathered outside the Milwaukee County Safety Building in Milwaukee downtown for a rally. They are seeking a conviction in the case of former Milwaukee police officer Michael Mattioli, who is accused in the death of Joel Acevedo last spring.
They also stood in solidarity with activists in Minneapolis, where the trial for the officer who killed George Floyd is scheduled to begin this week.
Rebecca Burrell is a co-host of the podcast Revolution Ready. She said she believes justice will be served when the officers involved in the deaths of both Joel Acevedo and George Floyd are convicted.
“We won’t accept what is unrighteous and unjust, so whatever measures we have to take in order to get the righteousness that we are looking for and the justice that we are looking for is what we will do. What other option do we have? Bow down to it? Never,” said Burrell.
While Burrell stands in solidarity with Minneapolis, she wishes more attention would have been given to Acevedo’s case. He died after being put in a chokehold by Mattioli, a month before George Flyod was killed.
“I mean I think it’s ironic. It’s irony that two lynchings in America are calling the trial, calling the court, calling for justice at the same time. I believe that justice for either of them will be justice for all of us,” she said.
On Monday, the trial of the former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd was delayed due to the addition of a possible third degree murder charge. In Milwaukee, a request to change the location of Mattioli’s trial was denied for now.
