THEO WELLING
People attend to a protester who was injured trying to stop a truck from driving through a protest in downtown Belleville.
A peaceful protest against police brutality and systemic racism in Belleville ended with a protester going to the hospital today.
J.D. Nixon, whose group Empire 13 organized and led the protest, says that about 40 people marched through Belleville to protest the police violence that killed Tyre Nichols in Memphis and all the other Black lives lost to state-sanctioned violence.
The protest was wrapping up by occupying East Main Street at High Street when a person drove their truck through the crowd.
Two protesters tried to stop the truck, say Nixon and another eyewitness. One of the protesters went on top of the truck while the other grabbed the side and ended up on the bed of the truck. Both protesters fell off as the driver sped away.
The person who had been on top of the truck sustained a slight injury to the hand, but another person, a woman, sustained an injury to her head and had to go to the hospital, according to Nixon.
The Belleville police confirmed that two people were treated on the scene but could not confirm that anyone went to the hospital.
The Belleville Police Department also says it has detained two people in relation to the incident but cannot release more information at this time as the investigation is ongoing.
"This shows why we are protesting," Nixon says. "What this man [the driver] did was perpetuating racism. He chose violence at a peaceful protest because American culture is built on systemic racism." Nixon adds that's why his group is "fighting for equity in the system and equity for Black Americans."
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