Another community grieves over losing Nicholas Thomas, a "person of value" - action, not talk, needed

 

To donate towards funeral expenses, go to: http://www.gofundme.com/q3g7kg

Cobb County, Ga...The vigil held in memory of Nicholas Taft Thomas at Smyrna City Hall tonight left one depressed and bewildered. How could this be happening in our community, a young black man shot while he was at work, killed by police for no good reason?  Is the message "Black lives don't matter?" Is genocide the cause of this latest tragedy, leaving another black family in shambles?



Touching photo of black male and mother during vigil -
two valuable persons in our community

Thomas' only sibling, Triston, said the officer who killed his brother was wrong. "It's outrageous that Nicholas is dead." Triston said he had Officer Kenneth Owens' picture hanging on his bedroom wall. "I want justice for Nick."

A member of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement said police and security personnel have been militarized, and cops have morphed into armed vigilantes.

Derrick Boazman (l) gave live broadcast from vigil site.

Radio Personality Derrick Boazman said, "We are here because Nicholas lived...

Kenneth Owens killed something that was valuable to us... He was a son, a brother, a father, a nephew, a friend...Where are the good police? Why aren't they standing here beside us?"

Local NAACP President, Deane Bonner, said, "All is not well in Cobb County."  She said she shares the family's grief. "We stand for a swift, independent investigation."



Cobb County NAACP President Deane Bonner said members are willing
to give the Thomas family any assistance they need.

Local SCLC President Ben Williams asked attendees to launch an economic boycott of Cumberland Mall until an independent investigation is done. He said the police had gunned down "a strong tree in the forest."

Another spokesman said that,"Cobb County's jail motto to black men is C.O.B.B. - Come on Back Boys."

A poem was read by a young black woman. "We're here again, ya'll, angry...the issue is here, right on our front porch. When is the time when enough is enough? Today we morn. Tomorrow we fight."

Attendees were wondering which shirt to wear now, the Trayvon Martin shirt, the Eric Garner shirt, the Michael Brown shirt, or the Calvon Reid shirt.

 

Messages displaying outrage were wore by vigil attendees.

"I got a parking ticket yesterday because I didn't put enough money in the meter," said DJ Ryan Cameron. "I better pay that ticket because I might end up dead. We've got to vote. Stop this at the ballot box."

"Where will they kill us next?" he said. "At the bus stop? Inside the classroom? It's gonna have to stop today. How in hell can you close the case before you close the casket?"





Hands up. Don't shoot!

"We need an outside agency to investigate because Cobb police can't police their buddies."

Leon Ford from Pittsburgh said, "Being here is very hard for me. I was shot four times and paralyzed by police. I was unjustly shot. This family is going through the same thing my family went through. I'm tired of saying, 'No justice, no peace' and seeing signs."

 

Attendees were bid, "Don't sleep tonight. Advocate for other families across the country."





Thomas' parents, coming through the crowd, have not been able to bury their son yet.
Nicholas Thomas was killed one week ago today.

The sister of Kevin Davis, killed by police on December 29 in metro Atlanta, said, "They kept him from us until he died alone at Grady Hospital. I'm tired of seeing them kill our black men like dogs in the street."

A cry went out to indict and convict the policeman who killed Thomas. "There are a lot of unstable police out there," another speaker announced. "Eric Holder is leaving the Justice Department and Lynch is going in. Ferguson is not unique. The feds need to check all the police departments in the country, including our local department."

Some signs looked like they had been used before.

After the event, Thomas Carter of the Black Political Action Group said he was concerned that the organizers did not have a plan or petition, and they were basically "just talking....Also, why wasn't there any crowd control in case something happened?" he said.

Update: The Thomas' attorney informed us that, "The family just received word they could get his body yesterday afternoon, and they are hoping the GBI will accept the body to do a second autopsy, being that the Cobb county medical examiner is a part of the same agency that committed the shooting."



People discuss what to do next in their action plan.