TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Protesters marched through downtown Saturday with the Black Lives Matter movement, part of the reason, they were calling for justice for Tamir Rice.
Rice was killed in November, 2014, when a police officer in Ohio shot the 12-year-old. A grand jury did not indict the officer involved, and protesters in Tucson marched to send a message here.
"Again we see that black lives don't matter in this country," said Redeem Robinson, the march organizer.
During the march chants of "I can't breathe" and "hands up, don't shoot" and "black lives matter" rang through the streets, showing this was about all recent deaths of black men and women at the hands of police, not just Rice.
Robinson says about 100 people showed up for the march, including Stephen Hardy who says he lost his voice from all the chanting.
"I was doing a lot of yelling today to let people know how we feel," he said.
Hardy added, he believes silence could be deadly, which is why he is marching. Being older than many of the protesters Saturday, he says he's encouraged so many in the younger generation are standing up, even those of other races.
Protesters also had a message for Tucson police.
"We're coming together to let the Tucson Police Department know 'Don't try that with us here'," said Robinson.
Some patrol cars were visible in downtown along the route protesters took, but there was no incident. At the end of the march, one officer drove by the gathering to say goodbye.
