The Rev. Al Sharpton and an attorney for George Floyd's family spoke at the memorial Tuesday for a white Arkansas teenager shot dead by a deputy, a case that civil rights activists say highlights the need for interracial support to address police shootings.
Seventeen-year-old Hunter Brittain was shot and killed by a Lonoke County sheriff's deputy, Sgt. Michael Davis, during a traffic stop June 23 near Cabot, about 30 miles northeast of Little Rock.
Brittain's memorial at Beebe High School in Beebe also featured remarks by Ben Crump who — along with another Floyd family attorney, Devon Jacob — is representing Brittain's family. Floyd died in May last year when a white Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin the handcuffed Black man's neck to the ground.
In a news conference before the memorial, Sharpton addressed the question of why he was there, saying “If we segregate how we react, then we’re wrong.”
He added, “This young man should have been entering his senior year, not a cemetery.”
As mourners filed into the high school auditorium Tuesday morning, photos and video of Brittain were displayed on a large screen above his casket, which was decorated with blue and white ribbons, the Chevrolet symbol and "Forever Chevy 17." Members of the teen's family and his friends wore shirts that read, "Justice for Hunter."
During the memorial, Crump said Hunter should be preparing for his senior year of high school, “but he’s dead in this casket.” The teen should be “gathering the courage” to ask his girlfriend to prom, “but he’s lying dead in this casket.”
Sharpton said he was warned it might be controversial for him to come because it’s outside of Little Rock and Hunter was white. The civil rights activist said he replied “then we must go.
“We don’t just come for one race,” he said
Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley last week fired Davis for not turning on his body camera until after he had shot Brittain. Staley said the only footage police have is from the aftermath. Arkansas State Police are investigating Brittain's death.
The shooting in predominantly white Lonoke County drew the attention of Sharpton and other civil rights activists and follows nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice last year. Davis is white.
A release by the National Action Network, which was founded by Sharpton, said the civil rights leader planned to "highlight the need for inter-racial support against police brutality in America" with his eulogy.
Authorities have released few details about the shooting. Brittain's family has said the teenager was unarmed and was holding a jug of antifreeze when he was shot. Brittian's family and friends have held protests nightly outside the Lonoke County sheriff's office and have complained about the lack of information released.
Staley on Monday said he welcomed those who want to peacefully protest, but that out-of-state activists could risk "inflaming an already difficult situation."
"The people of this county are good, decent people and they, like me, want to see accountability and transparency in this situation," Staley wrote on the office's Facebook page.
Information for this story was contributed by Brianna Kwasnik of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
This story has been updated. It was originally published at 10:53 a.m.