Voices from a Tampa protest: the message is peace

COLLEGE HILL —On Sunday, May 31, our journalists followed a Tampa protest over police brutality — at East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard & N 22nd Street — from start to finish.

Protesters lined up outside of the Tampa Police District 3 station just before noon and took their message to the neighboring Cyrus Greene Park and through the Ybor Heights streets.

Clergy members and community leaders spoke, prayed, encouraged people to register to vote, and worked to keep the demonstration peaceful. They marched miles through Ybor City to make their voices heard. Many stopped to take breaks drinking water and fanning themselves on the sidewalk as the once large crowd grew smaller. They ended back at the police station.

Just after 4 p.m., the tension began to rise. It went from organized to chaotic in a matter of minutes.

This is what protesters had to say.