KANSAS CITY, MO — On Monday, charges were filed against Andrew Lester in the shooting of Ralph Yarl at a Northland home last week.
Black civil rights leaders with the Urban League of Greater Kansas City and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City say it's a first step towards justice.
“He just made a mistake, he got the wrong address and it almost cost him his life,” said Bishop Frank Douglas Jr., a board member on the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City.
Gwen Grant, the president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, says she is pleased that charges have been filed against Lester.
“Fighting these battles day in and day out — excessive and deadly force against young Black men, whether it’s at the hands of police, or at the hands of another white person, is exhausting," Grant said.
Grant and Douglas say this is just day one in the fight for justice, and is a step towards sending a message and seeking accountability.
“I think they should prosecute this man to the full extent of the law,” Grant said.
Douglas agreed.
“If we let it slide, we got more days like this," Douglas said.
Still, Douglas said he wants the community to learn how to heal.
“We have to come together as a city, and I don't want to say who is right and who is wrong,” Douglas said. “But if you don't know wrong when you see it, then you're wrong too."
In the days ahead, both civil rights leaders say there's more work to do in Kansas City.
“There has to be a certain level of repair, so that any reconciliation that does occur — it first has to have a repair," Douglas said. "Then you wipe the slate clean and then say, 'Let’s sit down at the table,' and come up with the solution."
On Tuesday, community leaders will hold a rally for Yarl and his family.
—
